Change the Past, Recreate the Future
by jkrowlingrox
Summary: Hermione gets sent back in time to 1976 after her side loses the Final Battle. Everyone she cares about has died. What will she do when Lord Voldemort and Sirius take an interest in her?
1. Prologue: Fate

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Prologue: Fate

_It's funny how things sometimes turn out, isn't it? One moment you are sure of what will happen, or what you want, or both. I thought I was sure. I thought I knew who the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with was. I thought I knew that he would eventually propose, that we would get married, and that we would grow old together and watch as our children grew up. I thought I knew that The Golden Trio would outlive this war. That we would survive and cherish the memories of those we had lost. _

_I was wrong._

_Nothing is certain in life. Not really. You can make an educated guess as to what will happen, be adamant that you are right, but inside you are actually breathless with anticipation, waiting for confirmation._

_Nothing is impossible either. Especially in the world of magic. There is a high probability that something isn't true, that it can't happen, that it never occurred._

_You probably think I'm crazy, whoever you are. Wondering why you haven't stopped reading this if you haven't already. You're probably right. I am crazy. But if I am, then that means that this world is in more trouble than you can even begin to comprehend, because I need my sanity to save the world._

_That sounds extremely egotistical, doesn't it? But it's the truth. There are only two people here that know how to defeat Voldemort, and I happen to be one of them. The other... well... it's complicated. He likes letting people find out what they are capable of, and so he has laid this task on my shoulders. I have made him swear that if I fail that he will continue the work, but I don't think I needed to. He would have done it anyways, I am sure. He may take the backseat when he thinks someone else can drive, but he will never get out of the car._

_Who is he? you may ask. Well, I am sure you will figure it out soon enough._

_Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had never been so careless. If I had never let my guard drop. That split second as I watched the man I loved fall cost me everything, and yet it gave me everything at the same time. I heard him scream, and my heart... I swear it stopped. I couldn't do anything but look. I turned to him, even though I was in the middle of a duel, and that mistake was all the Death Eater needed. Those Death Eaters, I should say. Since in that moment two Death Eaters decided to attack me at once._

_And that is how I ended up here, in 1977. You may wonder why that is so unique, but I'm not supposed to be here. I shouldn't be here. I technically shouldn't even exist for another three years. I shouldn't be the age that I am for seventeen more on top of that._

_Yes, you guessed it. My name is Hermione Jane Granger, and I have traveled twenty years back in time._


	2. The Beginning

The following in italics is an excerpt from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling, and afterwards is where I take the plot into my own hands. I will twist the story a little bit to fit in with the plot I have in mind, but will try to make it as close to the real thing as possible.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

The Beginning

_Bellatrix laughed, the same exhilarated laugh her cousin Sirius had given as he toppled backward through the veil, and suddenly Harry knew what was going to happen before it did._

_Molly's curse soared beneath Bellatrix's outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart._

_Bellatrix's gloating smile froze, her eyes seemed to bulge: For the tiniest space of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed._

_Harry felt as though he turned in slow motion; he saw McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn blasted backward, flailing and writhing through the air, as Voldemort's fury at the fall of this last, best lieutenant exploded with the force of a bomb. Voldemort raised his wand and directed it at Molly Weasley._

"Protego!"_ roared Harry, and the Shield Charm expanded in the middle of the Hall, and Voldemort stared around for the source as Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak at last._

_They yell of shock, the cheers, the screams on every side of "Harry!" "HE'S ALIVE!" were stifled at once. The crowd was afraid, and silence fell abruptly and completely as Voldemort and Harry looked at each other, and began, at the same moment, to circle each other._

_"I don't want anyone else to try to help," Harry said loudly, and in the total silence his voice carried like a trumpet call. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."_

_Voldemort hissed._

_"Potter doesn't mean that," he said, his red eyes wide. "That isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to be using as a shield today, Potter?"_

_"Nobody," said Harry simply. "There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good..."_

"You dare to think that you will be the one to defeat me?" hissed Voldemort.

"Yes."

That was all it took to make Voldemort swell in rage; that one simple word was enough for him to be the one to cast the first curse. The dueling began in earnest, and both sides were casting their spells wordlessly, so the only indication of which curse was being sent was the color of the beams being emitted from the tip of each wand.

The duel didn't last for very long. In the end, two beams of light connected, a yellow one from Harry and a green one from Voldemort. But since neither one was using their original wands, the ones with the brother cores, there was no _Priori Incantatem._ There was only the expanding of the green light, the overpowering of it until the yellow light was consumed. The green light rushed towards Harry and completely engulfed him. For a moment, he glowed green, but it soon faded. And Harry James Potter fell to the ground, dead.

The result was absolute chaos. Death Eaters that had only been unconscious were now rallying to Voldemort as he laughed maniacally and shouted to the world of the "foolishness of that pathetic boy." The battle began once again, but now the fighters for the Light were fighting with both rage and grief fueling their attacks.

But no matter what they did, they could not deny that they were losing. Their hope, which had soared at the appearance of Harry, had now completely abandoned them. But they didn't care. They knew they were going to die, but they were going to take as many Death Eaters with them as possible.

At least, that's what Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley were thinking. They had lost their best friend, and they suddenly no longer cared for their own lives. Oddly enough, the only thing they cared about was the life of the other.

Hermione was in the middle of a fierce duel with one Death Eater while Ron was behind her fighting another. She didn't see what had happened, but she heard his scream as the Killing Curse took away his life. Her breath hitched, her heart stopped, and she whipped her head around to see Ron fall to the ground, glowing green like Harry had done minutes earlier. And all she could look at were the sightless eyes of the person she loved. She did not know if she was in love with him, but she knew that she loved him as a friend. One of the best friends someone could ask for. The person she had only a few hours ago kissed for the first time. Her only remaining best friend.

And that was when the Death Eater she had been battling with and the Death Eater that had just killed Ron had chosen to attack her. Their spells hit Hermione at the same time, and the force of them lifted her off of the ground while her eyes were still trained on the body of the youngest male Weasley. Her entire body glowed gold for a split second, and then, with no warning, she disappeared.

* * *

Hermione fell to the floor with a _Thump!_ Her eyes were closed tightly, the tears escaping from her eyelids and streaming down her face. All she could feel was pain. This entire year she had been on the run with Harry and Ron, fought with them, spent entire days with them, and now they were dead. Hermione gave a small sob crawled over to where she thought Ron's body was, still refusing to open her eyes, not wanting to see what she knew was undeniable. She wanted someone to kill her now. There wasn't any point to being alive.

Hermione finally stopped crawling and curled up into a ball. It didn't register in her mind that she should have been attacked by now. She simply let her emotions take over and she wept.

A few minutes later the tears began to lessen. Hermione took great gulps of air, trying to gain control of herself. She finally opened her eyes and looked around for Ron's body, wanting nothing more than to curl up next to it and die. Except... the Great Hall was empty. The four house tables were set up in the way they were before the battle had ever started. There were no craters in the walls were spells had hit them. There were no burn marks. Most importantly, there were no bodies.

Hermione stood up quickly, wiping the tears from her eyes. _Was it all a dream? Did this entire year never happen? _She turned around slowly, examining every inch of the Great Hall. She smiled. _I don't care if this means I'm going crazy!_ She thought with new tears, now those of happiness and relief, fell from her eyes. _If being crazy means that Harry and Ron are alive, I'll gladly lock myself in St. Mungo's!_

Believing that it was all a dream kept Hermione going. She quickly picked up her wand, which had fallen to the floor, and began to head for the doors, slowly picking up speed until she was sprinting out of the Hall, down corridors, up staircases, and to the Fat Lady's portrait. She stopped there, panting for breathe with her hands on her knees. In the back of her mind it registered that there were some paintings missing from the walls, that there were some she didn't recognize, and that many suits of armor seemed out of place. But she ignored it.

Hermione then looked up. The Fat Lady wasn't in her portrait. _Shoot! Now what? I need to see Harry and Ron, make sure they're alright! NOW!  
_

"Excuse me, but may I ask what you might be doing here?" asked a disconcertingly familiar voice.

Hermione froze. She knew that voice, but that was impossible...

She spun around, pointing her wand at whoever it was.

And gasped.

Standing in front of her, complete with the long white beard, half-moon spectacles, twinkle in the eyes, and obviously alive, was Albus Dumbledore.


	3. Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Time

_Standing in front of her, complete with the long white beard, half-moon spectacles, twinkle in the eyes, and obviously alive, was Albus Dumbledore._

"Pro-Professor Dumbledore? Wha- how- you're alive?"

Somehow seeing Dumbledore alive and well made Hermione believe that it all wasn't a dream, however backwards that logic may have seemed. Despair and grief immediately overwhelmed her, but somewhere in her mind she knew she had to remain strong. Her arm that had been holding her wand, which was pointing at Dumbledore, dropped to her side. Her face became emotionless, and her entire being positively radiated apathy.

Professor Dumbledore noted the change and wondered why his appearance had such a dramatic effect on the young witch standing before him.

He chuckled. "Well, if I wasn't I imagine it would be hard for me to be speaking with you."

Hermione blushed, albeit a faint one. _Wait a minute, how do I know that this whole thing isn't some kind of trick that Voldemort created? _She frowned. Well, she would keep her mind open, but her instincts told her that Voldemort wouldn't pull a stunt like this. If he wanted information, he could use Veritaserum or torture her, and if he wanted to hurt her or kill her he could use the Unforgivable Curses. Hermione stopped her train of thought as fast as she could right there. She would not remind herself of what happened, of what he, THEY all looked like... She needed to figure this out. From what she could tell, if Voldemort was behind this he had nothing to gain except messing with her mind.

Dumbledore was looking at her in a way that made her feel like she was being analyzed. Hermione cleared her throat and said, "I'm sorry, but as far as I know you are dead Professor."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Really? Well, may I ask what has led you to believe this?"

"I saw your body. I went to your funeral. My best friend saw you die from the Killing Curse. That was proof enough for me." Her voice, only a few hours ago full of passion and vigor, was now devoid of emotion and deadpanned.

His brow furrowed as he digested this information. "When was this?"

"About a year ago. Why?"

"Hmmmm... I wonder... Can you tell me what year you think it is?"

Hermione blinked her eyes in surprise, but her face was still impassive. "1997... I ask again, why?"

Dumbledore sighed as if his suspicions had been confirmed, and he was none to happy about it.

"Miss... I'm sorry, you never told me what your name was."

Hermione's jaw dropped, and emotions finally flickered to life on her face. Primarily, shock and confusion. _What on earth is going on here? _"Professor... It's me. Hermione. Harry Potter's best friend, the know-it-all, the muggleborn, Hermione Granger. You don't recognize me?"

Dumbledore sighed again.

"Miss Granger, I am sorry, but the year is 1976. As you can see, I am very much alive. I do know a family with the surname Potter, but they only have one son, James. I'm terribly sorry, but it appears you have been transported back in time. About twenty years into the past."

* * *

Hermione's brain stopped thinking for a moment, and then an onslaught of thoughts and emotions jolted it back to life. The first thing that went through her mind was: _This actually makes sense. _The next one was: _OH. MERLIN. _And then she thought: _How can I trust him? But it makes sense! The Great Hall was undamaged, Dumbledore is alive, I've already established that Voldemort has nothing to gain from doing this... But if this is true, then what am I supposed to do?_

Hermione voiced her last concern out loud.

Dumbledore's face betrayed none of his thoughts, but inside he wondered why she believed this so readily.

"Perhaps we should take this conversation to my office. If you would follow me please."

Dumbledore led her down the semi-familiar path to his office. She hadn't been here nearly as often as Harry, but had made it her business to know where it was in her first year, along with all of the other teacher's offices.

On the way there Hermione's emotions on the surface were once again limited to apathy and unconcern. If you didn't know any better, you may have dubbed her a zombie from the lack of energy the exhibited. But inside her mind was whirring with a myriad of thoughts, primarily what she was going to do about this situation if it was indeed real.

_How did I get here? All I remember is... HIM falling... Don't think about it, don't think about it... Wait... those two Death Eaters... they both tried to curse me... They lifted me off of the ground, so maybe one of them was cast wrong and sent me here! Or perhaps it was a combination of the two... I'll run these theories by the Headmaster when we get to his office._

"Licorice Wand."

This was obviously the password, seeing as how the stone gargoyle immediately moved out of the way, admitting both Professor Dumbledore and Hermione into the Headmaster's office. They both stepped onto the revolving staircase, Hermione two steps down from the professor, and waited until they were at the top. The doors opened of their own will, as if recognizing the occupant of the office they guarded.

Hermione had never been in Professor Dumbledore's office before, and used the time from when she sat down in the offered chair to when Dumbledore sat down in his own across the desk to examine the room. Harry had told her about the various little instruments and how he had broken many in his grief at the end of their fifth year. The room seemed very similar to Harry's description, the only difference she could find was that the stand for Fawkes was right next to the Headmaster's chair, and seemed far from his Burning Day. His plumage was a beautiful crimson and gold and the sight of this magnificent bird somehow made the gaping hole in Hermione's heart seem a tiny bit smaller.

By this time Professor Dumbledore had already sat down, put his elbows on the table, and pressed his fingertips together. Hermione redirected her attention from Fawkes, who was staring at her, to the Professor, who was doing the same. _It's a little disconcerting how similar their gazes are._

"Miss Granger, if you could please explain to me everything you know of the events leading up to your arrival here, it would infinitely more helpful."

Hermione shifted her gaze away from Dumbledore and stared at one of his various silver instruments, trying to avoid the inevitable. She instead focused her mind upon studying the object, trying to keep her memories at bay. This one seemed very uninteresting, for it looked like a silver sphere, about the size of a baseball, with three spikes coming out from the bottom which formed a kind of tripod for it to stand on. The bottom of the sphere was only about a centimeter from the shelf upon which it stood.

"Miss Granger?"

She sighed, one full of melancholy and sadness. It seems that she would have to relive THAT after all. The idea was not an appealing one.

Hermione slowly turned to face the Professor, tears welling up in her eyes but refusing to drop. She looked down at her hands, which had taken up twisting themselves in the hem of her shirt without her knowledge. Hermione took a deep, shuddering breath, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She began looking around the room, trying to find some sort of support without looking at Dumbledore. Her gaze settled on Fawkes, who let out a small, almost imperceivable noise that warmed Hermione starting from her heart to the rest of her body. She smiled sadly at the phoenix in gratitude, and finally looked at the man before her, so much younger than the one she had known, in the eye.

Slowly, bit by bit, Hermione related her tale. She began, not with the Horcruxes, but with Voldemort's attack on Hogwarts. From the way she told it it made it seem as if she had been attending the school the whole time, not running around trying to find the pieces of Voldemort's soul.

As he listened, Professor Dumbledore had to marvel at how much this young woman had been through. He could tell that she was glossing over some details and completely lying about others, but he knew that she was only saying what she deemed appropriate. He respected her already and trusted that she knew what she was doing when she omitted and exaggerated some facts.

When Hermione finished her story she stared at her knees. Now that she had said it out loud, there was no denying it. They were gone.

"Do you remember the colors of the spells or better yet what their incantations were?" Dumbledore asked gently a few moments later.

"No."

Elaboration was not needed, nor was it even asked for. The Headmaster had not expected her to remember, not so soon after her loss.

The aging man sighed and leaned back in his chair as he scrutinized the witch before him who had yet to meet his eyes since she had told her sorrowful tale.

"I am afraid that without any knowledge or even clue as to what spell or spells hit you there is not much we can do to send you back. I would suggest-"

"I'm not going back."

Dumbledore paused and cocked his head slightly in confusion. She had made a statement, not a question. There was no doubt in her voice, which surprised him.

"I did not say that Miss Granger. I said that there wasn't much we could do to reverse the process, but there are always other alternatives-"

Hermione interrupted him once again, and said very softly, "No."

"No?"

"No."

She finally raised her head and met his eyes. "I will not go back. I am choosing to stay here. There is nothing for me in my time."

"Miss Granger if you stay here, you could change the timeline. For one thing, I am sure that is not true, but you may feel so when your grief is so near and palpable. Secondly, there are laws regarding time travel. First and foremost, you-"

For the third time in the space of a few minutes the Headmaster was interrupted yet again by the saddened person before him.

"Must not be seen, I know. The second, do not, in any way, shape, or form, contact your past self. Third-"

This time it was Dumbledore who did the interrupting. "You are familiar with the laws of time travel, it seems. May I ask how?"

Hermione managed to crack a small, although patronizing, smile. "You sent me back in time with Har- a friend of mine to save 'an innocent man from a terrible fate.' "

"Well, be that as it may, and as terrible as this future you have described to me seems, it is-"

"Professor, I apologize for interrupting yet again, but you must understand. My parents are dead. Killed by Death Eaters as he was searching for me, although how he managed to find them- never mind. I don't have any other relatives. My two best friends are both dead as well. The only other people closest to me pale in comparison in regards to how close we are and are not sufficient motivation for me to return."

"Then may I ask why you believe that staying here will be so much better?"

"Not for me it won't. But for others I can almost guarantee it."

Dumbledore frowned slightly. He had an odd feeling he knew where this was going...

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to change the future. Or, more accurately, I'm going to save it."


	4. The Choice

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

The Choice

_"I'm going to change the future. Or, more accurately, I'm going to save it."_

Dumbledore sat in his chair for a few moments before he said anything.

"Before I say anything more I believe you should tell me exactly how fargone things are in your time."

So Hermione told him. She told him that even though her parents had had their memories altered so that they could not recall her, Voldemort still managed to find them in Australia. She told him of how her parents' bodies had been displayed by the Death Eaters when they had attacked Hogwarts, before the battle had even begun. She told him how the Ministry had been infiltrated by Voldemort's followers and they did not know who they could trust. She told him about how Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody had been killed. She told him about the Horcruxes. She told him about the intense training she, Harry, and Ron had gone through over the summer before they went Horcrux-hunting. She told him everything.

Throughout the entire thing Professor Dumbledore merely sat there and listened. If Hermione had not known any better she would have thought that he wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying. It was only when her emotions were beginning to get the better of her and tears were pouring out of her eyes as she was telling him about all the people that had died that he finally spoke.

"All right."

Those two words stopped both Hermione's story and tears. She waited for him to elaborate.

"If what you tell me is true, then I will agree to assist you in your endeavor to 'save the future' as you so eloquently put it."

Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. She had expected that there would be a lot more convincing involved. "Really?"

"Yes. But before we do anything I think we should decide what you shall be doing in the meantime."

"Oh. Right."

"Since you most likely will not be returning to your own time, and have readily accepted staying here, I think it would be best if you continued your education here at Hogwarts."

Hermione smiled brightly, but it soon faded. She would be in her Seventh Year, but had always imagined that she would graduate with Harry and Ron. Instead she would be saving the world from Voldemort. _I'm doing this for them. So that they won't die. So that Harry won't grow up without his parents._ That's when the thought first occurred to her. Even when Professor Dumbledore had mentioned James Potter she had been too caught up in the fact that she had traveled twenty years through time to process who he actually was and what would become of him.

"Ummm... Professor? You mentioned a James Potter earlier... so would I be correct in assuming that he is the the one that hangs around with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew?"

Dumbledore gave her an odd look, one that she couldn't identify. "Yes, that would be him. Would _I _be correct in assuming that you know him in the future?"

Hermione had a far away look in her eyes as she stared at a point somewhere above the professor's head. "Sort of." And she didn't go into any more detail than that. The Headmaster got the hint and didn't probe, and then wisely changed the subject.

"If you are going to continue your education here, then you will need to be sorted once again, and we must come up with a plausible story as to why you have transferred so late in your educational career. What year would you be in, if I may ask?"

Hermione managed to shake her head of the thoughts of being with the Marauders and Lily Potter- no, Evans- so that she could concentrate on the task at hand.

"Oh, I would be in my Seventh Year. Hmmm... We could say that I was attending a small private school and my parents were killed recently, and my new guardian lives closer to here."

"I think that the story I present to the school should be a little less... shall we say, personal. If you really did just lose your parents would you want me to announce it to the entire student body?"

Hermione frowned. "Point taken. Okay, how about you tell the school that I transferred due to some personal problems and if people pester me too much about it that could be my excuse."

Dumbledore smiled. "That sounds excellent. Now, as I said you will need to be sorted."

Hermione cringed, memories of her own sorting in her First Year coming back to haunt her. A different time, a different person, one who was innocent... She blinked as tears formed in her eyes from where her thought path would have eventually led.

"Please, Professor." Hermione pleaded in a soft voice. "I would like to remain in Gryffindor if you don't mind."

"If it were between the two of us, Miss Granger, I would be more than willing to place you in that house with no qualms whatsoever. However, the students will feel otherwise. They will want to see you be sorted, and I think that we would prefer to avoid as much scrutiny as possible, don't you?"

Hermione sighed. Again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "You're right, of course, Professor. I guess I'm just afraid that I won't be Sorted into Gryffindor and I don't think I will be able to handle that much change in such a short amount of time. That and I don't feel completely comfortable with being sorted with the First Years in front of the entire student body."

Dumbledore sighed himself. Both were doing it with some amount of regularity. "I wish I could do more to help you. If it can help ease your mind, the Sorting Hat will not place you in a House you do not want to enter. You can converse with it and choose, so the chances that you will not end up in Gryffindor are minimal. And as for being sorted with the First Years, I can arrange it so that you are sorted separately before or after them if you wish."

Hermione's spirits were lifted. Slightly. "Thank you sir. That does help my mind a bit. I would like to be sorted after the First Years if that would be alright sir."

"That would be perfectly fine Miss Granger."

Curiosity finally caught up with Hermione, so she asked, "Professor, what is today's date?"

"Sunday, August 25th, 1976. The new school term starts in exactly one week."

"And... James Potter... this would be his..."

"Seventh Year. He and Miss Lily Evans have been made Head Boy and Head Girl this year."

Another pang went through Hermione. She would have been made Head Girl in her time, she was sure of it. She wouldn't be graduating with her best friends, and she wouldn't even have what she had aspired to be all these years. Suddenly another thought occurred to her. "Professor, I don't have any money in this time, nor do I have any clothes, books, or, well, anything."

Dumbledore gave a small chuckle. "Miss Granger, we have a fund for students, such as yourself, that would not be able to afford the necessities otherwise. Rest assured, your needs will be taken care of."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now," the Headmaster said as he leaned back in his chair, "it is very late, and we have much more to discuss. But for now, I believe it is time to get some rest. Until the new term starts you can stay in the Gryffindor tower if you wish."

"Thank you, sir. I would like that very much."

"The password is 'password.' I have yet to set new ones for any entrances or doorways, so they are all the same. The new passwords will most likely be put into place in a day or so, and I will inform you of the change as soon as it is made. And now, I say good night."

Understanding this as a dismissal, Hermione got up and left the office. As she stepped onto the revolving staircase, her mind began to analyze her entire situation. She knew that she was making the right choice, right? She stepped off the staircase and walked past the stone gargoyle as she began to tread the familiar path to Gryffindor Tower.

_I made the right choice. There is nothing left in my time for me to go back to. The Weasleys will be worried for me, but if I succeed then there will be nothing for them to worry about._

**_What do you mean, the right choice? You're messing with time! Do you know how many laws you are violating just by letting yourself be seen by Dumbledore?!_**

_So what? There's another life I can save! If I can destroy all of the Horcruxes in this time, which shouldn't be a problem because I know where they are and how to get past their defenses already, then the future I know won't happen!_

**_Exactly! You don't know what future you will be creating! For all you know, by doing this something worse could happen!_**

_That future can't be any worse than the one I just came from! In case you didn't notice, Harry's dead. Ron's dead. Mum's dead. Dad's dead. EVERYONE'S DEAD. Voldemort won! If I can stop that from happening, I know it's the right choice!_

**_And what happens when you do destroy all of the Horcruxes? Are _you_ going to duel with Voldemort?_**

_If I have to, yes! And if not, then someone else can do it! One Killing Curse is all it would take. Anyone that hates him enough could do it! I would gladly tear my soul up to kill him, and I certainly hate him more than needed to do so!_

**_How do you know? Have you ever killed before? Ever said 'Avada Kedavra' and seen the light leave someone's eyes?_**

_Of course not! But that is besides the point!_

_**Then what is the point?**_

_The point is, I can save them. I can save my entire family. I can save all my friends. I can give Harry what he always wanted, a family. He won't have to live without his parents and maybe even grow up with a sibling or two! He won't ever have to even see his aunt and uncle. _

Unknown to Hermione were the small tears that slowly slid down her cheeks.

_And as for Ron, well, he and the rest of the Wizarding World won't have to live in fear that their families will be killed! They won't have to ask stupid questions to make sure the person they are talking to is the person they say they are. They won't have to wonder when they say goodbye to someone going to work or school if that is the last time they will see them! How can that not be better for everyone?_

_**Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're going to save the future. What about the now? Will you be able to look Wormtail in the eye when you meet him, after everything he's done?**_

_I have very good self-control, unlike most of the population. I can handle it. I won't be able to look at him very often, but I can avoid him when needed._

**_So you say. What about Sirius, and Professor Lupin, and Lily and James? You know that they are all going to die, so what are you going to do when you see them?_**

_Well, they WON'T die, for one. If Voldemort is defeated in this time, then we won't go into the Department of Mysteries. Sirius won't fall through the veil. Lupin won't die in the battle because there won't be a battle. James won't have to protect his wife and son from Voldemort because there won't be a Voldemort to protect them from. Lily won't have to die to save her child if the man who would kill them is gone. And by knowing that, why would I be affected by any emotions when I see them?_

**_Fine. What happens after alls said and done? When Harry and Ron are born, and they go to school? You won't be able to be the friend to them that you were. Your eleven-year old self will be their friend. And wait, since Voldemort will be defeated then Quirrell won't let the troll in. You won't be saved by them. You won't be friends with them. You will go your entire Hogwarts career alone and friendless. Just like Primary school._**

_Well... then... I don't know! But one friendship isn't enough to stop me. At least my younger self will be alive. That's more than I can say for others if Voldemort sticks around._

**_Yeah, that'll be very comforting for your eleven-year old self. "Hey don't worry if you're all alone and everyone makes fun of you. It doesn't matter if people think you're just an annoying know-it-all. At least you're alive to experience all that pain!"_**

_Well, then I'll just have to become friends with Lily and James. I meant to anyways. That way, when Harry is born I can somehow tell him to give the mini me a chance. Or maybe I can even get to know the little me and introduce her to Harry and Ron when they are young. But either way that's years from now. I have time to come up with other ideas._

The voice in her head that was arguing with her was silent. That was when Hermione realized that she had arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady. This time, she was in her frame, and was also awake. Hermione said the password, and walked into the Common Room.

It was the exact same. Except for the absence of a few burn marks on the carpet from Fred and George's experiments and the fact that a few couches were slightly out of place. The rest was just as she remembered it. The couches in front of the fireplace were still there. The table that she would always claim as her own when she had a lot of homework to do was near the wall, just the way she liked it. The staircases to the Girl's and Boy's Dormitories were where she remembered them.

Tears began to form more quickly and in greater size and quantity that filled Hermione's eyes as she slowly made her way up the Girl's staircase. She found herself at the door of the dorm she had shared with Parvati and Lavender for six years. There was no plaque on the door stating which year occupied the room, though. She pushed the door open and walked in. The beds were in their proper places, and she made her way over to her own. Hermione managed to collapse on it and curl up into a ball before huge sobs overwhelmed her, all while clutching her wand to her chest

As sleep gradually overtook her, all she could see behind her closed eyelids were the faces of Harry and Ron, whom she would never be able to see as best friends ever again.

* * *

A/N: I'm considering updating more often. I probably won't update twice a week, because I don't want to give you guys everything and then have to stop for a while because I don't have anything written. It will probably be more along the lines of once every four or five days. I'm not really sure. Leave your thoughts in your reviews please.


	5. More Talk and Tears

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

More Talks and Tears

_As sleep gradually overtook her, all she could see behind her closed eyelids were the faces of Harry and Ron, whom she would never be able to see as best friends ever again._

The sun slowly rose and made its way up the sky. Rays of light brightened the ground, trees, and a small room in a tower of a castle. It was one of these rays that made its way into the room to the immobile figure of a young woman curled up on top of a bed. Her long, bushy brown hair was spread out behind her while her hands were tucked up next to her face. The light slowly brought her back from a deep sleep plagued with nightmares from her past.

Hermione very slowly opened her eyes. The entire dormitory was bright, giving it a cheery atmosphere. For others it may have made them happy, but for Hermione it only served to deepen her depression. How could it be so bright out when so many had been killed so recently? Others may have also woken up in denial, thinking that their entire situation was just a strange dream in which they have just woken up. But not her. Not Hermione. She knew that she was alone, in a different time, and that her parents, Harry, and Ron were all dead.

Carefully sitting up and throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, Hermione gazed once more at her surroundings. So familiar, and yet so sad... Shaking her head free of those thoughts, yet knowing that they would soon return, Hermione stood up and stretched. She could not deny that it was nice to sleep in an actual bed, rather than on the ground in a sleeping bag in the middle of nowhere.

Hermione then noticed that there was an extra set of Hogwarts' robes at the foot of the bed she had been sleeping in, with her wand lying on top of them. Silently thanking Dumbledore for this kind gesture, and wondering why he would have taken her wand out of her hands while she was sleeping, she picked them all up and headed to the bathroom.

Hermione walked over to the bathroom, but when she reached it decided against it. A very long, very hot bath with a lot of bubbles sounded extremely appealing right now, and the bathtubs in the dormitories paled in comparison to the prefects' bathroom. From last night she knew that the only place with an actual password was the Headmaster's office, and all of the others were 'password'. She reversed her direction and made her way down the stairs, out the portrait, and towards the prefects' bathroom.

One... Two... Three... Four. The fourth door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor. Hermione said the password and opened the door. Ignoring the majesty of this room made of white marble she went over to the taps that surrounded the edge of a tub the size of a swimming pool and began to turn various ones. The pattern may have seemed random, but you could tell that she knew exactly which ones she wanted to use.

In a short amount of time the tub was full. Hermione carefully peeled off her clothes and dumped them on the floor. She gingerly stepped into the water, easing herself into the heat. Finally she submerged herself completely and laid back. The bottom was so deep that her feet couldn't touch it, so she conjured up a ledge along the entire tub that was the perfect height and length for her to sit on and lean against the edge.

Using some of the different kinds of soaps, shampoos, and conditioners that lined the back edge of the tub, Hermione washed herself free of the dirt and grime that had built up on her body. After that was done, she sat down and relaxed her aching muscles.

Hermione did not know how long it was that she stayed in the water, but it was enough time that a good portion of the bubbles had disappeared and the water was significantly cooler. She climbed out, grabbed a towel and started to dry herself off. When she rubbed her face with the towel, she felt a slight sting. It was then that she noticed the cut on her face. It was long, on the right side, and had been hidden by her hair the night before. Hermione finished drying herself off and went over to the giant sinks and mirrors on the wall.

Hermione carefully looked at the cut. It was extremely close to her hairline, and wasn't that deep. By now it had stopped bleeding, but the washing combined with rubbing it had caused it to hurt slightly. It was about three inches long, a straight,vertical line about an inch from her ear.

_I wonder where else I was hurt but couldn't feel it? _Hermione wondered as she examined the rest of her body. Other than a very few minor cuts and bruises, she couldn't find anything else wrong with her. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, so she decided to head to the Hospital Wing.

Madame Pomfrey was there doing an inventory on her potions and was more than willing to fuss over Hermione. If she was confused at the appearance of a student a week before school started, she didn't show it. Half an hour later Hermione walked out fully healed with the cut on her face a white scar. She had asked to nurse to keep it because Hermione wanted to remember. Every day she would look at herself in the mirror to remind herself of why she was there. The scar would not allow her to forget.

* * *

After the visit to the Hospital Wing Hermione decided that she should probably finish talking with Professor Dumbledore, so she headed to his office.

She let herself in by saying the password, stepped onto the staircase, and went up to the doors. At the doors she paused for a moment with her hand raised, hesitating for some unknown reason. Then she shook off the hesitation and rapped the door quickly three times.

"Come in."

Dumbledore had obviously been expecting her, as he was already sitting at his desk with his fingertips pressed together.

"Please, sit down. Lemon drop?"

"No thank you Professor," Hermione declined politely as she sat down.

There was an awkward silence as both parties waited for the other to break it.

"Miss Granger, I believe that for the sake of your future you should take up a new name. You have insinuated that there are people here that know you, and if your younger self in the future and they should cross paths we do not want to raise any suspicion. Which makes it obvious that you cannot tell anyone of where you are really from."

"I agree."

"Are there any names you can think of that you would respond to as your own?"

"Well... Mya sounds close enough to Hermione that I would recognize it. As for my surname, I have always liked Grey."

"Hermione Granger. Mya Grey. Yes, I do believe that that would be acceptable. Now, as for your 'past' we have already established that I will announce that you transferred due to some personal problems. I could also ask that they not question you about your reasons. However, if people do ask, then you could tell them that you were attending a small private school, but your parents were killed recently and your new guardian- who I think should be one of the staff here- thought it would be better to finish your education at Hogwarts."

Hermione looked slightly confused. Hadn't they already decided that this would be her story? Other than one of the teachers becoming her guardian. "Professor, I thought we had already agreed on that cover story. Except for the whole 'staff member being my new guardian' thing. And, by the way, doesn't that mean that we will have to tell whoever that person may be about my situation? Because I doubt that they would believe that I am their charge when they have never heard of me."

"If you are against telling anyone, I would be more than happy to pose as your guardian. However, I was hoping that you would consent to letting Minerva McGonagall into our little circle. I think she would be-"

"Of course. Professor McGonagall- I trust her. I agree that she would probably be able to help us. Although, I am not completely comfortable in telling her everything. Not because I don't trust her, but because I don't want others pitying me because of what I have gone through. We can tell her about the time travel, but beyond that I would prefer it if she remained in the dark."

"That is more than acceptable. I was also thinking that you might want to do a little bit of shopping for clothing and school supplies. Minerva would be happy to take you anytime you wish. Today, even."

"I'd like that. I kind of want to get out of here. No offense or anything sir."

Dumbledore chuckled. "None taken, none taken at all. I understand."

He then turned to Fawkes and whispered, "I think Minerva should be brought up here now."

Fawkes nodded his head and then, quite suddenly, vanished in a flash of flame.

The Headmaster leaned back and settled his arms on the armrests of his chair. "Now, while we are waiting, I was wondering if there was anything else you would like to discuss."

Hermione shook her head. There were so many questions in her head, but for the life of her she could not seem to voice them.

They sat in silence until Professor McGonagall showed up, her face so much younger than the one Hermione recalled. There were less wrinkles and worry lines, and her hair was completely black, devoid of any gray hairs. Hermione smiled sadly when the thought of how Fred and George probably gave her most of them went through her mind.

Professor McGonagall looked slightly surprised to see the young woman, whom she assumed was a student from her robes, sitting in the Headmaster's office. She turned her head to Professor Dumbledore and asked, "Yes, Albus?"

"Please, sit Minerva." He said indicating to a chair next to Hermione's that he conjured with a wave of his hand.

McGonagall sat down, her back straight with perfect posture. In the next few seconds of silence she cast surreptitious looks at Hermione.

"Minerva I have asked you here to help me with a rather- shall we say- unique situation." Dumbledore said delicately while leaning back in his chair. "This young woman is from the future."

"The future?" the Professor asked in shock. "How far?"

"Almost nineteen years exactly it would seem."

McGonagall's eyes widened as she slumped against the back of her seat.

"What?" she whispered, now staring openly at Hermione.

Hermione turned to look at her Transfiguration professor with a small smile.

"Hello Professor McGonagall. It's good to see you again."

This seemed to shock the woman into regaining her composure. She sat up and let her eyes take on their normal size.

"How did this happen?"

"We are not quite sure." Dumbledore said with a slight frown. "We believe it may have been a combination of two incantations hitting her at once, but there is no way to be certain. Unless..." the Headmaster trailed off as his brow furrowed in thought.

"What?" both Hermione and McGonagall said at the same time.

"Miss Granger," then Dumbledore paused. "How adverse would you be to us examining your memories?"


	6. My Memories?

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

My Memories?

_"Miss Granger," then Dumbledore paused. "How adverse would you be to us examining your memories?"_

"I beg your pardon?" Hermione whispered. "You want to use Legilimency on me?"

"I did not say Legilimency. I happen to own a pensieve, which is-"

"I know what a pensieve is professor. I just- I'm not- I don't want to relive- _that- _ever again."

"Miss Granger, you would not have to-"

"And the only way," Hermione said while raising her voice to override Professor Dumbledore's objections, "that I would ever let someone else see that day, is if I was there. I would need to be there. I- I just wouldn't be able to let someone see that without me. I just- I couldn't."

"I completely understand-"

"But," Hermione whispered, now trembling slightly. "I'll do it anyway. And-" she looked directly into Dumbledore's eyes, "I want to do it now."

Silence greeted that statement. Professor McGonagall looked bewildered, wondering why this particular memory would be so hard for the young witch to see. Professor Dumbledore simply cocked his head as he looked at Hermione. She met his gaze, still shaking, but turned away quickly.

"All right."

Dumbledore stood and walked over to the black cabinet which held the pensieve. He carefully picked it up and brought it over to set upon his desk.

Hermione stared at the pensieve in wonder. Harry had told her about it in their fourth year, of course, after he had seen the memories of the different trials of supposed and actual Death Eaters of Professor Dumbledore. But in his need to relay the information of the trials, he had failed to accurately describe exactly what the pensieve looked like. He forgot to say that the memories looked like floating liquid, or that the basin was decorated with ancient runes and symbols. One she recognized, it meant "Memory", but many others were completely foreign to her.

"Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked gently.

Hermione took a shuddering breath as she lifted her wand to her temple. She had read about how to gather a memory into the strands needed for a pensieve and placed the tip to her head. She then carefully withdrew it with a strand of the memory clinging to the tip, and carefully placed it in the basin.

"Both of you should see this." She whispered as dread for what she was about to see filled her. Then without further ado, she bent over and touched her head to the substance swirling around in the pensieve. And she disappeared.

* * *

Hermione fell and landed on her stomach as she found herself at the same moment when Mrs Weasley had shrieked at Bellatrix Lestrange to stay away from her daughter. Next was Professor McGonagall, who managed to land on her own two feet, although she stumbled a bit. She quickly straightened herself and flinched slightly at the spells as Professor Dumbledore managed to arrive without the slightest bit of trouble.

It was then that both Professors looked around and assessed their surroundings. McGonagall's jaw dropped as she realized first, how much Hermione must have gone through; second, why she was reluctant to relive this day; and third, exactly how accomplished the young woman must be just to survive.

Hermione walked over to where she knew the duel between Voldemort and Harry was going to take place, walking through and ignoring the beams of light from spells, curses, and incantations. She watched as it unfolded with a dead look on her face. She heard Professor McGonagall gasp as she saw her future self fly through the air after Bellatrix's death. She then heard the sounds of disbelief coming from both teachers as Harry revealed himself and was the one to face the Dark Lord, rather than one of the more experienced fighters.

A single tear slipped down her face as she continued to watch the scene unfold to Harry's imminent death, and then followed herself to where Ron would die.

"This is it," she whispered.

Dumbledore and McGonagall understood that her being sent back in time was about to occur soon. They watched the Hermione that was battling for her life as she turned in horror to watch Ron fall to the ground. The two conversed between themselves as they saw the two spells hit Hermione at the same time.

In the meantime Hermione stood next to Ron before he fell, sat down next to him when he fell, and just stared at him while the professors discussed the different possibilities of the combination of the spells.

Hermione had no idea how long she sat there, but it seemed to soon until the Headmaster placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to meet his eyes, not realizing that silent tears were making their way down her face once more.

"I believe that will be enough."

Hermione nodded dully as she felt herself being pulled away, once again staring at Ron before she departed.

When they had all settled back down into their respective chairs, there was one question that Professor McGonagall wanted an answer to.

"Who was that boy that fought with You-Know-Who?"

Hermione turned her head away and rubbed her arm. "Harry James Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The only person in the history of the Wizarding World to survive the Killing Curse. My best friend."

"What?" McGonagall gasped.

And so Hermione explained how Harry's parents had gone into hiding because of the prophecy, without mentioning the mother's name, and the eventual downfall of Lord Voldemort.

They sat in silence as McGonagall digested this little tidbit of information, until another question arose in her mind.

"Where was the Headmaster? I find it hard to believe he would not be in a battle that took place in Hogwarts while there was still a breath in his body."

"That's because he didn't have any breath in his body. He had died the previous year."

Hermione continued with her explanation that a curse was killing Dumbledore, that he had asked a teacher (not mentioning who) to kill him so a student wouldn't have to, and how the nameless professor had complied.

Professor McGonagall simply sat there in shock, her hands tightly gripping the armrests.

"The- ah- two Death Eaters that attacked you used wordless magic so we could not discern which incantations they used. Although we can be fairly certain that it was the combination of the two that led to your time travel." Professor Dumbledore said to break the silence that had engulfed the room.

"It's all right. I have already accepted that I won't be going back. Even if you had managed to find a way, as I have stated I am not going back."

"I beg your pardon? Not going back? What is she talking about Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked in confusion.

"I am here because as you saw, we lost. I am going to change my past, your future. That memory of mine will never come to pass while I am alive."

Both Dumbledore and Hermione proceeded to explain what their plans were for her. McGonagall just sat there, listened, and accepted taking the responsibility for becoming Hermione's guardian. Together the three of them smoothed out the finer details of Hermione's stay, and later Hermione and Professor McGonagall went shopping.

After buying all of the necessary items at Diagon Alley, McGonagall and Hermione returned to the castle. There Hermione once again fell asleep with the images of her two best friends floating before her eyes.

* * *

Before she knew it, Hermione realized it was September 1st. Her week had comprised of reading her textbooks and crying at certain points to express her grief. They had decided that there really was no need for her to pretend to arrive at the school on the Hogwarts Express when her "guardian" was a teacher that had been staying at the school for the past week getting ready anyways.

Hermione waited anxiously in the common room, trying to read her Transfiguration textbook, but failing miserably. She sat there until Professor Dumbledore came up to tell her that the other students would be arriving in about ten minutes and that she should head down to a room adjacent to the Great Hall.

She followed him out of the portrait hole and on her way down she checked her reflection in a window, giving herself a quick look over. She smoothed her hair back nervously, and continued her walk.

Hermione soon arrived in a very blank room, the only thing in it a sofa against one of the walls. There wasn't even a window. She sat down, her leg bouncing in anticipation. Soon she could make out the sounds that clearly meant that the rest of the school had arrived. She waited until they had settled down, then heard the doors open again, knowing from previous experience that it would be the First Years.

No longer able to stay in one place, she got up and walked over to the door. Hermione cracked it open the smallest bit so that she could watch the Sorting. She clenched her teeth when she surveyed the Great Hall for the first time since she had run out of it upon her arrival. She had deliberately avoided the room with the memories of death burned into her memory and had taken all of her meals in the kitchen. _You can do this. It hasn't happened yet, and it won't happen. Ever. There's no reason to be apprehensive._

Lost in her thoughts, she jerked her head to watch Dumbledore when he suddenly announced that the Sorting was not yet over. Murmurs could be heard throughout the student body as they craned their necks to look for the child that had been forgotten.

"I am pleased to announce that this year we will be accepting a transfer student. She previously attended a small private school but moved here due to some personal events. Please welcome Mya Grey."

There was a small scattering of applause, confusion apparent in many peoples' eyes.

Dumbledore waved his hand and the small set of double doors opened. Hermione straightened her posture and walked out of the room and over to the stool upon which the Sorting Hat rested, staying calm with the knowledge that the deaths she had witnessed would never occur. She picked the Hat up, sat down, and placed it upon her head.

_Hmmmm... a time traveler? I must say, I have not seen one of you in quite some time... Miss Granger is it?_

_Yes, now can you please sort me? I don't mean to be rude, but you have already placed me in Gryffindor, so can you do so again?_

_Yes, of course. That house suits you well, with your great amounts of bravery and passion. I hope you succeed in your task, Miss Granger. I fear what this world will become if you fail._

"GRYIFFINDOR!"

Heartened to hear that the hat approved of her mission, Hermione smiled, placed the hat back on the stool, and walked over to the cheering table.

* * *

"So, what do you think of the new girl?" James Potter asked the other Marauders.

"I dunno... she seems all right. Pretty enough, I suppose. Not breathtaking, but attractive." Sirius Black commented.

"I don't mean how she looks Padfoot! I mean, how well do you think she will do in Gryffindor?"

"Oh. I dunno. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we? Or maybe not, since she seems to be heading over here."

And Sirius was right. Hermione had spotted the Marauders and was heading to the space in between Lily and James. She supposed that Lily had left the big gap on purpose, but it seemed like James hadn't noticed and was just happy to be near her.

She sat down and smiled at everyone. "Hi, I'm Mya Grey."

"Hello Mya. I'm James Potter, this idiot here is Sirius Black, the one across from you is Remus Lupin, and this guy is Peter Pettigrew." James said while pointing to each person in turn.

When introduced to Peter, Hermione met his eyes. Oddly enough, she did not feel any animosity towards him. All she felt for the small, chubby, blond-haired one was a strange compulsion to keep him from ever becoming a follower of Voldemort.

Hermione smiled at them all, her chest tightening slightly as she thought about how true everyone had been when they said that James and Harry really were identical. "Hello."

"If you want to stay out of trouble, then I would suggest staying away from these clowns. Black and Potter are notorious troublemakers."

Everyone turned to look at the person who had spoken, Lily Evans. Hermione's heart constricted even further as she looked into an exact replica of Harry's eyes.

"Hi, I'm Lily Evans, Head Girl." she said and shook Hermione's hand.

"Oh, right, I actually forgot to mention I was Head Boy." James added with a slap to his head.

"How he managed that, I will never know..." Lily muttered to Hermione.

"So, Mya, where are you from?" Remus asked, after a short, slightly awkward silence.

"London. I attended a small private school called Forstron School of Witchcraft and Magic. It's an all-girls school."

She had actually done some research on it (it was a real school) to prepare herself for the questions she was sure would be asked.

And so they questioned her. Why did you move? Oh, Aunt Min- ah, I mean Professor McGonagall is my guardian and since she taught here we thought I should attend this school. Aunt Minerva? She's my guardian. Then why not go here before? The other school was closer to home. Then why come here at all? I sort of had to get away, you know?

She was sure that someone was going to ask her straight out what she was hiding, but Lily shushed them. And then the questions continued.

How long have you been here? I arrived about a week ago and have been staying here ever since. What do you think of Hogwarts so far? It's a lot bigger than Forstron. Wow, that's a pretty nasty looking scar. How did you get it? Oh, my cat attacked me.

They continued to poke and prod at her past all throughout the feast. Hermione tried to answer her questions as best as possible, working to avoid the questions that would lead to her "parents." At least it was easy to look like she had recently lost someone. That would be no problem at all.

* * *

Oddly enough, Sirius did not ask many questions. In fact, he did not ask any at all. From the second that Mya sat down he had sensed something about her. It didn't happen very often, but when there was a small lull in her interrogation she would get a pained look on her face. He had noticed it first when Hermione had looked at James. He had seen a brief flash of sadness in her eyes, but it had disappeared so quickly he was sure he had imagined. Until it happened again when she looked at Lily. That time he was positive he had seen something.

It was when she kept avoiding the reason behind why she came to Hogwarts in the first place that it hit him. Sirius realized that the pain he kept seeing in her eyes was tied to grief. _She must have lost someone. Probably her parents, if McGonagall became her guardian._ He appreciated how Lily kept steering them away from those questions. He didn't like seeing that look in Mya's eyes.


	7. A Little Attention

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A Little Attention

_It was when she kept avoiding the reason behind why she came to Hogwarts in the first place that it hit him. Sirius realized that the pain he kept seeing in her eyes was tied to grief. _She must have lost someone. Probably her parents, if McGonagall became her guardian._ He appreciated how Lily kept steering them away from those questions. He didn't like seeing that look in Hermione's eyes._

* * *

Finally the dessert was eaten and the plates were cleared. Hermione was grateful, for this meant that her interrogation was over. Lily, James, and Remus all stood up, calling for the First Years to follow them. They soon lead the way to Gryffindor Tower with a small group of students clustering together in fear tagging along.

Sirius smirked. Knowing Lily, it would take longer than needed to lead the children to the portrait of the Fat Lady. She wasn't aware of the many shortcuts and passageways that could cut the time spent traveling in half. She would also probably give a full description of everything she knew about the portraits they passed and what they needed to know about trick steps and moving staircases. James would try and get them to the Tower faster, but would bend to Lily's will because of his crush. And Remus... well, he would just go along with whatever the two Heads did, not wanting to create a confrontation between the two.

Sirius turned to Hermione, intending to show her in the opposite direction where the shortest path was, but found that she had already started heading in that direction. Peter just stood behind Sirius, waiting for him to lead the way as the Great Hall slowly emptied of students and teachers.

_Where is she going? There's no way that she could possibly know about that passage, it took us three years to find it and she's only been here a week!_

But apparently she did, as it became obvious when he followed her. She pushed aside a tapestry and tapped a brick, leading to a passageway lit by torches immediately appearing. By this point Sirius, and therefore Peter, had caught up to her.

Hermione held the tapestry out of their way so they could enter the passage, smiling when she saw the look of awe on Peter's face and the look of shock and confusion on Sirius'.

"How- you- how did you find this?" Sirius said in amazement.

Hermione just smiled a secretive smile, shrugged, turned around, and led the way up the steps that were just around the bend of the tunnel.

When they exited the passage about two minutes later from behind a painting of a landscape, Sirius was surprised even further when Hermione went to the statue of a headless wizard and pushed it aside to reveal another staircase. Both Peter and Sirius' jaws dropped in shock. Somehow this girl had been here for a week and discovered a secret passageway that the Marauders hadn't found in six years!

Needless to say, Sirius was extremely impressed. Even though his pride had taken a bit of a blow.

Hermione noticed their faces and thought that it was shock that she knew another secret of Hogwarts, not that she had opened up a doorway that they had never seen before. Why would she think that, when she had seen it on the Marauder's Map?

She continued to lead the way and managed to make it to Gryffindor Tower before anyone else, even though they had been the last ones to leave the Great Hall.

"I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you two tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we'll see you later." Sirius answered for them both.

Hermione smiled at them, walked up the stairs to her dormitory, changed into her pajamas, and fell onto her bed. She lay there and thought about the people she had just met, some of which she had known for years.

Lily had been very nice, and looked exactly like many of the pictures that Harry had of his parents. Long, straight, red hair, and beautiful green eyes. She was about Hermione's height, 5' 6''. Maybe a little taller. _Lily is just like I thought she would be. Compassionate to others, but witty when it comes to James. I'm going to need to help get them together. I can't risk my actions affecting their relationship. Her eyes... just like Harry's._

James had also been what she had expected. An exact mirror image of Harry, minus the scar and with brown eyes. _I hadn't expected him to be so... reckless? Carefree? I don't know. I guess when people kept saying how much Harry and his father looked alike I expected their personalities to be the same as well. Although Sirius did say that the risk of getting caught at something would have been what made it so much fun for James, so I should have expected a bit more recklessness._

And that led her to Sirius. He was about 6' even, with long black hair. Not so long that it needed to be tied back, but just long enough that it fell into his eyes. It gave him the daredevil look that she was sure girls were attracted to. He was muscular as well, but not to the point of extremes. Hermione had been sad when she saw him, knowing that he would be locked up in Azkaban and fall into the Veil. _No. That won't happen. I won't let it. So don't think about it. I wonder why he never spoke at dinner? The Sirius I knew was eager to put his thoughts out into the open. _She shrugged off the thought. With her knowledge of the past she realized that he had run away from home either this summer or last summer. _He was probably thinking about that._

Remus had been somewhat of a surprise. Hermione had expected him to be more like the man she knew he would become. Scarred and with a constant look of loneliness in his eyes. However, he was so much happier. He laughed easily, his body showed less scars, and his eyes were a bright blue rather than the dull hue she remembered. He was built much the same as Sirius, muscular and thin. _I won't let his sadness follow him. He will live the rest of his life with his friends. He won't find out that someone he trusted with his deepest secret betrayed one of his best friends._

And so the betrayer crept into her mind. Peter. He seemed so... innocent, Hermione realized. He was shorter than the others, only about 5' 7'', and still had a bit of baby fat. Even though she knew what he would become, Hermione also knew that if she played her cards right, Peter would never follow Voldemort. _I don't want to have to kill anyone else. If I can keep him from ever becoming a Death Eater, then I will. That, and I can't kill him when he hasn't done anything yet. And if I kill him when he has done something, then it will have been too late. I will have already failed my mission._

Thoughts focused on the differences between people, Hermione slowly drifted to sleep. And for the first time in a week, her mind was so full of something else that she did not have nightmares of her past.

* * *

The next morning Hermione woke up early out of habit at seven o'clock. She stretched, yawned, and got up to take a shower before the other girls decided to take it over. The shower took only about twenty minutes, including the time it took to get dressed and dry her hair. When she walked back to the dormitory, the other girls were just started to rub the sleepiness out of their eyes.

"Morning Mya. You seem to be an early riser." Lily commented as she gathered her clothes and soaps.

"Yeah, I put my education very high on my list of priorities."

One of the other girls groaned. "Oh great, another one. Can't we have any normal people besides me?"

"Oh, where are my manners? Mya, this is Mary Boot. The one next to you is Alice Everett." Lily said and introduced her to the other residents of the dorm while gesturing to them in turn.

"Nice to meet you both."

Mary was the same height as Hermione, with long, straight, black hair that reached about halfway down her back. She had brown eyes, a short and pointy nose, with a face that looked like it was made for a smile. Alice, however, looked extremely familiar. Slightly chubby, with a face that resembled Neville Longbottom. Hermione smiled when she realized that this must be Neville's mother-to-be, and wondered where Frank was. She soon shook her head to move her thoughts away from their fates.

Alice smiled at her, small dimples appearing on her cheeks. "It's nice to meet you too. It'll be nice to have another girl around here. Can you believe we only had three girls in our dorm? And the boys only have four. It was annoying having only seven students as Gryffindor Seventh Years. All the other houses have at least twelve."

"In my old school there were only three girls in my house as well."

"Really? Well, since your school was private it probably had less people in each year anyways, right?"

"Yeah." Hermione said while mentally cursing herself for forgetting that she came from Forstron.

"Well, I'm a bit hungry, so I'm just going to head down to the Great Hall for some breakfast. See you three later!"

"Do you know your way down?" Mary asked.

"Yes, I've been here for a week and made sure to know the way to all the rooms that I would need to go to." Hermione lied, seeing as how she had almost the entire school memorized like the back of her hand since her second year.

"All right. We'll see you in a few!"

Hermione nodded and made her way down the stairs to the common room. She wasn't surprised to find that no one was there, knowing that the other residents of the Tower had probably only just woken up. She smiled sadly when she thought about how similar this was to her own time.

She had almost made it to the portrait hole when she finally heard a sign of life.

"Mya!"

Hermione turned around to face none other than Remus Lupin, apparently an early riser like herself. He caught up to her and they made their way down to the Great Hall together.

"So, what classes are you taking?"

"N.E.W.T.s level classes for Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Charms, Herbology, and Ancient Runes. What about you?"

"The same as you, minus Ancient Runes. I dropped it in the middle of third year when I realized that decoding symbols held absolutely no appeal for me."

"I know what you mean. My two best friends-" here she gave an almost unnoticeable pause- "they thought I was crazy for taking it because they thought it was all nonsense."

Remus decided not to question the pause that he detected. Had his senses not been elevated due to the full moon being only two days away, he might not have noticed it at all. But since it was, he had heard the soft intake of breath in that split second between her words.

"Yeah, James, Sirius, and Peter aren't interested in it very much either. Neither are Alice or Mary. Actually, Lily's been the only Gryffindor in our year who took it. She'll be ecstatic to find out she won't be alone anymore."

They continued to discuss classes, Hogwarts, friends, and teachers on their way down to breakfast. That is, until they heard someone else speak.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? The new girl and the nerd. Aaaaaaaw, you two make such a cute couple!" the voice said in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Hermione and Remus turned around to face the speaker. Hermione's hand automatically went to her wand, hidden beneath her robes, upon recognition of those behind them. It was Bellatrix Black, Evan Rosier, and Antonin Dolohov.

"Black. Rosier. Dolohov." Remus said in a cold voice.

Bellatrix Black smirked. "Lupin." Now ignoring him, she turned to Hermione. "So, Mya Grey, was it?"

"Yes, but since I don't know your name I hope you forgive me for not addressing you."

"Oh, how rude of me." Bella said sarcastically. "Bellatrix Black. This is Evan Rosier, and this is Antonin Dolohov."

Hermione nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"There have been a few rumors about you." Rosier sneered.

Hermione's eyes flicked over to him but reverted back to her primary concern, Bella.

"Really? Like what?"

This time it was Dolohov who spoke. "Like how you know this school better than half of the Seventh Years put together."

_How would they know that? Unless Peter told them... but I always thought that he joined Voldemort after Hogwarts? I'd better play it safe just in case._

"I may have found a few shortcuts during my stay here. What's it to you?"

All three of them smirked, and ignored the question.

"Is it true that Professor McGonagall is your guardian, but not your parent?" asked Rosier.

"Yes. Why do you care?"

"So what happened to your parents?" Rosier continued.

"Does it really matter?"

"If it does to you."

"Why?"

"Can't some classmates be interested in a new face?"

"Classmates? Yes. You? No." came a voice from behind the three Slytherins, making it their time to turn around. It seemed that while Remus and Hermione had been taking their time talking while they were walking, the rest of the Gryffindor Seventh Years had managed to catch up to them, Sirius in the lead.

"I'm sorry, did someone say something? Or was that just a fly buzzing around my ear?"

"Even if a fly did have some kind of reason to approach you, it would die from shock at your lack of brains." Sirius shot back.

"Well forgive me, I can't hear people that no longer exist." Bella said with a fake sweet smile.

"Do you mean mother has finally disowned me? That's the only smart thing I've ever seen her do."

_So it was this past summer where Sirius ran away._ Hermione thought, while observing the shocked looks of her roommates. From the lack of response from the boys, she could only surmise that Sirius had already told them. Hell, they probably had a party at the Potters' place when they found out.

"Best choice Aunt Walburga ever made. You've always been a disgrace to the name of Black. Going against the other purebloods, becoming a Gryffindor, and running away? I'm surprised she managed to wait so long."

"Has she been spreading around that she kicked me out herself? As much as I wish she had done it before, _I'm _the one that took the initiative. I ran away myself, rather than stay in that godforsaken house a minute longer."

"The only smart choice you ever made was to leave. Now at least you won't be a disgrace to your superiors."

"Hope you don't mean yourself." Hermione spoke with a dangerously soft voice, her wand in her hand at her side.

Bellatrix turned sideways so that she could watch both parties, her attention on Hermione at the moment.

"Stay out of it, wench. This doesn't concern you."

"Except they interrupted our little chat, Bella. It's terribly rude to just ignore someone in the middle of a conversation."

Bella seemed to have had enough for today when she saw Professor McGonagall coming around the corner, because she simply smirked one last time, beckoned to Dolohov and Rosier, and walked away.

When they had disappeared through the double doors of the Great Hall, all the Gryffindors approached each other.

"You guys okay?" Sirius asked, looking at Hermione in particular.

"Yeah, she just questioned Mya here about some stuff. Nothing big." Remus said.

"What about?" Lily wondered.

"Her past, it seemed like."

Meanwhile, Hermione had been staring at the doors with her jaw clenched, her wand still at her side. Even though the last time she had seen Bellatrix she had died at the hands of Mrs. Weasley, it still didn't change the fact that she hated the witch for torturing her at Malfoy Manor. It worried her slightly that she had been asked those questions. Hermione knew that Bella wasn't completely crazy in this time, since she hadn't been to Azkaban just yet, but it didn't change the fact that she was dangerous. Hermione was sure that there was a reason beyond curiosity about a new student for the interrogation, but didn't know what. And she hated not knowing.

**A/N: Please check out my poll in my profile!**


	8. Points in Potions

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Points in Potions

_Meanwhile, Hermione had been staring at the doors with her jaw clenched, her wand still at her side. Even though the last time she had seen Bellatrix she had died at the hands of Mrs. Weasley, it still didn't change the fact that she hated the witch for torturing her at Malfoy Manor. It worried her slightly that she had been asked those questions. Hermione knew that Bella wasn't completely crazy in this time, since she hadn't been to Azkaban just yet, but it didn't change the fact that she was dangerous. Hermione was sure that there was a reason beyond curiosity about a new student for the interrogation, but didn't know what. And she hated not knowing._

After being shaken out of her thoughts by Sirius, the Gryffindors entered the Great Hall for breakfast and continued to talk about what the Slytherins may have been up to. However, they didn't have much to go on. All they knew was that for some reason Bellatrix was interested in the past of Mya Grey.

Soon Professor McGonagall began to walk down the Gryffindor table, handing out their schedules. When they received theirs, an immediate groan arose from the boys.

"Double Potions first thing Monday mornings with the Slytherins? That's the worst combination to wake up to after a weekend!"

"And Double Defense Against the Dark Arts the same day, also with the Slytherins? What were they thinking? Spending that much time with the snakes will probably lead to their stupid germs rubbing off on me."

"We have double periods of everything every week?"

Hermione scanned her schedule while still half-listening to the talk around her.

* * *

**Monday**

**8:00- 9:10-** Potions (Slytherin)

**9:20- 10:30-** Potions (Slytherin)

**10:40- 11:50-** Free Period

**12:00- 1:10-** Lunch

**1:20- 2:30-** Free Period

**2:40- 3:50-** Defense Against the Dark Arts (Slytherin)

**4:00- 5:10-** Defense Against the Dark Arts (Slytherin)

**5:20- 6:30-** Dinner

**Tuesday**

**8:00- 9:10-** Arithmancy (All Houses)

**9:20- 10:30-** Free Period

**10:40- 11:50-** Charms (Ravenclaw)

**12:00- 1:10-** Lunch

**1:20- 2:30-** Transfiguration (Hufflepuff)

**2:40- 3:50-** Transfiguration (Hufflepuff)

**4:00- 5:10-** Free Period

**5:20- 6:30-** Dinner

**Wednesday**

**8:00- 9:10-** Free Period

**9:20- 10:30-** Herbology (Slytherin)

**10:40- 11:50-** Herbology (Slytherin)

**12:00- 1:10-** Lunch

**1:20- 2:30- **Free Period

**2:40- 3:50-** Ancient Runes (All Houses)

**4:00- 5:10-** Ancient Runes (All Houses)

**5:20- 6:30-** Dinner

**Thursday**

**8:00- 9:10-** Free Period

**9:20- 10:30-** Defense Against the Dark Arts (Slytherin)

**10:40- 11:50-** Potions (Slytherin)

**12:00- 1:10-** Lunch

**1:20- 2:30-** Arithmancy (All Houses)

**2:40- 3:50-** Arithmancy (All Houses)

**4:00- 5:10-** Free Period

**5:20- 6:30-** Dinner

**Friday**

**8:00- 9:10-** Transfiguration (Hufflepuff)

**9:20- 10:30- **Free Period

**10:40- 11:50-** Ancient Runes (All Houses)

**12:00- 1:10-** Lunch

**1:20- 2:30-** Herbology (Slytherin)

**2:40- 3:50-** Charms (Ravenclaw)

**4:00- 5:10-** Charms (Ravenclaw)

**5:20- 6:30-** Dinner

* * *

Hermione folded up her schedule, satisfied that nothing had been left out.

"Well, at least we have two free periods each day, except Friday." James said with a sigh.

As Lily stood up she said, "I'm going to go back to my dorm and grab the books I need today. You guys coming?"

The other seven students nodded in agreement and got up as well. They then followed Lily to the dorms, continuing to complain about their schedules on the way up to the Tower. When they left the portrait hole, Peter went in the opposite direction. He explained that he hadn't received a good enough score on his Potions O.W.L. to take the N.E.W.T. level class, so he was going to Remedial History of Magic.

While on their way down to the dungeons the boys began a new conversation about Quidditch, claiming that the girls' conversation about the teachers was too boring for them. Lily, Mary, and Alice had taken it upon themselves to describe each professor (in detail) about what they were like, who they favored, and the simple things to do to get on their good sides.

Down in the dungeons, the door to Potions hadn't opened yet, and there were a few Slytherins waiting outside, laughing at something. When the Gryffindors showed up the others just smirked at them and turned away. Hermione's stomach lurched when she saw the three that had questioned her just an hour before were also here. Her group waited a ways away from the others, not wanting to get any closer to the others than they had to.

After a few more minutes of waiting and talk about Slughorn, the boys abruptly stopped their conversation. Sirius nudged James, nodding with his head to something beyond the girls, causing both boys to smirk. Remus just pulled out a book, but Hermione could tell he wasn't reading it from the lack of movement from his eyes.

"Snivellus."

Hermione nearly gasped when she saw her professor-to-be. While his appearance itself would not change much in the upcoming years, his posture was what shocked her the most. The way he held himself was a far cry from the bat-like, proud stance he would use as a teacher. He stared at the floor, slouched over, as if trying to make himself smaller so that he would be less noticeable. It seemed as if Snape was trying to shrink away from everyone he passed by and worked to draw the least amount of attention to himself. He actually reminded her of herself before she had met Harry and Ron. Alone and friendless. As hard as it may seem to believe, especially after the way he would belittle her during class, Hermione felt sorry for him.

"Well, well, well. Look who managed to get his greasy head to class." Sirius sneered.

Like lightning, Snape pulled out his wand and pointed it at Sirius, but Sirius was quicker and disarmed him, catching his wand after it soared through the air.

"Snivellus, you'd think after all this time you would have learned something. Looks like I'm going to have to help make this lesson stick."

Sirius flicked his wand, and suddenly Snape was floating upside-down in the air, his hair red with a gold stripe down the center.

As Sirius continued to taunt and change various body parts and clothing into Gryffindor colors, Hermione noticed that no one made a move to help him, not even Lily. She had turned her back to them, leaning her shoulder against the wall, her face sad. James, although not participating, laughed along with several others and made no move to stop his best friend. Mary and Alice were smiling, but with faces that said that they found the situation funny even if they did not approve. Remus had given up any pretense of reading and simply leaned his back against a wall with closed eyes, as if trying to ignore the scene next to him. The Slytherins were sneering at Snape and telling him that if he was a real Slytherin he would get out of this situation himself.

Hermione was disgusted with everyone.

She whipped out her wand and disarmed Sirius, gaining Snape's and Sirius' wand in the process, causing Snape to fall to the ground gracelessly.

Immediately the entire corridor was silent.

Hermione was trembling in rage her eyes fixed on Sirius' surprised face. All occupants of the hallway had turned to face her when she had cast the spell, including Remus and Lily.

"Who do you think you are? Do you get your kicks by making people feel inferior and humiliating them?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and snorted. "You insult people in general by lumping this ball of grease in with them."

Hermione's eyes flashed and she clenched her jaw. "Why are you picking on him anyways?"

He smirked. "He exists. Do I need any other reason?"

"YES! If you think that it's your job to make others think less of themselves, then you're one of the stupidest people I've _ever _met, and that's saying something. I don't give a damn if you had an inferiority complex and felt the need to make others feel like you, or if you had a superiority complex and just feel like stomping on those you consider beneath you, or if you were just born an arse and that's who you are. You have no right to humiliate and degrade others just because 'they exist.' "

Everyone's jaws had dropped by the time Hermione had finished her speech, while she had slowly been advancing on Sirius, and ended up with her wand jabbing his chest. Sirius himself seemed so surprised that someone was actually sticking up to him and yelling at him that he was rendered speechless.

Hermione then spun around and stomped over to where Snape was now standing, his hair, face, hands, and robes all red and gold. She waved her wand over him, turning him back to normal, and handed his wand back. Before he could say anything, whether it be an insult or gratitude, the door opened and Slughorn appeared.

"Sorry class! Got a little caught up in reading some letters from old students, and I lost track of the time. Come in, come in, and take a seat."

It seemed the professor was completely oblivious to the situation, either that or he simply ignored it. Snape whipped past Hermione without saying a word, not that she had expected him to. The rest of the class walked into the classroom, leaving only Hermione and Sirius standing in the hallway. She glared at him one last time, threw his wand to the floor at his feet, and walked past him into the classroom, her head held high and ignoring him.

A few seconds later Sirius walked in, taking a seat next to James who was sitting next to Remus in the back. Hermione had sat next to Lily, while Mary and Alice were sitting at the table in front of them, theirs being the first table in the front.

"Ah, Miss Grey! I must say I am excited to see how well you will fare in my classroom."

"Thank you sir."

Then Professor Slughorn gave his customary "Welcome to Potions, this is what we will be doing this year, this is what I expect from you, blah, blah, blah" speech, and Lily turned to Hermione.

"Thank you for stopping that. I know that as Head Girl, or even as just a student, that I should have done it myself, but..." she sighed. "The last time I tried to help Snape, he called me a- a- a mudblood. And we were friends before that, so- I just-"

"It's okay Lily. I understand. Well, not completely, but you don't have to explain yourself to me. I just had to stop Sirius because I can relate to Snape. I'm a muggleborn, and all throughout Primary School I had no friends. I didn't make any friends whatsoever until I came here. I know what it's like to be made fun of and humiliated _(especially after the scandal in fourth year with Harry and Krum) _and I couldn't stand it."

Hermione was about to say more when Slughorn finally finished his speech and decided to start the class.

"All right." Slughorn said while clapping his fat hands together. "Today we are going to be making an extremely difficult potion, but we won't be completing it. This particular potion takes an entire month to brew, and is illegal to make in completion for underage witches and wizards. I want you to make it so I can see how much you remember and how adept you are at making a potion that you do not know the identity of." After a few hands were raised Slughorn raised his hands, as if to stop their questions, and simply continued with his explanation. "I will not be telling you what this potion is, and it cannot be found in your textbooks. The directions will be on the board, and those will only be the beginning steps. I will not disclose the entirety of the directions, for obvious reasons." He flicked his wand at the chalkboard, and writing immediately appeared. He then clapped his hands together again, and told them all, "Have fun, and get to work!"

James raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Why are we making this potion if it's illegal?"

"My dear boy, like I said, I want to see how you will do with a challenge such as this. Yes, Miss Grey?"

Hermione lowered her hand. "What if you know what this potion is?"

Slughorn raised his eyebrows in surprise, and the rest of the classroom looked at her in surprise. The professor recollected himself quickly, and smiled at her.

"I would award you seventy-five points if you could identify it, another fifty if you could accurately describe it's appearance in it's completed form, another fifty for a description of the effects, and I'll even throw in twenty-five more if you can tell me some obscure facts."

Many Slytherins smirked. If their Head of House was offering that many points, then this potion must be nearly impossible to identify. They were sure that this newcomer wouldn't win those points in a million years.

Hermione had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. These would be the easiest points she had ever received.

"We will be making the Polyjuice Potion. It's purpose is to turn the drinker into an exact copy of someone else. When finished brewing, it is a brownish-gray in color, similar to mud, very thick, and it tends to bubble sluggishly. After you add the bit of whomever you wish to turn into, the color will change, and it's impossible to know what it will look like without actually adding the hair and observing the change yourself.

"The actual transformation is very painful. You first feel as though your stomach and intestines have started writhing inside of you. Then your skin feels as if it is melting off of your body, and that is when you finally transform. Then the pain stops, quite abruptly, and you have become an exact replica of another person.

"As useful as this potion is for creating imitations of humans, it is not meant for animals. Animals should not ingest it and you should not add part of an animal. If you do, you will effectively become a human sized version of whatever animal it was you used for the potion. The effects do not fade after an hour, and can last for months if not treated properly."

The entire classroom was so quiet that the sound of someone breathing seemed too loud. Professor Slughorn had long since sat down at his desk, his eyes wide, his jaw slack, and his rotund body seemed to droop. The Slytherins looked at her with hate in their eyes, angry that she had gained so many points for their rival house. The Gryffindors were looking at her in awe, ecstatic that they were starting off in the year with such a great lead.

Slughorn cleared his throat and asked in a hoarse voice, "How do you know so much about Polyjuice Potion, Miss Grey?"

As one, the eyes of the students flicked over to their teacher, then back to the girl.

"I read it in a book," Hermione said, not completely lying. While most of that she had learned from personal experience, she had read about it in _Moste Potente Potions _before both making and drinking the potion.

Slughorn swallowed audibly, a small ripple going down his throat.

"Well- I- that was- I am very impressed, Miss Grey. I think you will fit in nicely to this classroom. Also, I have a little gathering of a few, _select_, people, and I would be delighted if you joined us. I am planning on having a meeting Friday night, in my office. Do you think you could come, my dear?"

Hermione figured it was better to avoid any confrontation she might have by denying, so she agreed.

"Now that that's in order, I believe I promised you quite a few points. Let's see... seventy-five for identifying it as Polyjuice Potion, fifty for describing it's appearance after brewing, I'll even add another thirty for adding that bit about it's appearance after adding the bit of someone else, fifty for the description of effects, and twenty-five for that bit about animals. And another twenty for the length of time the effects can last, I wasn't aware of that detail... so that will be a total of..."

"Two-hundred and fifty points." Lily whispered.

"Yes, 250 points to Gryffindor. Well done, Miss Grey. Well, now that you all know what it is you're making, go ahead, get to it!"

The class scrambled up to get their ingredients after examining the chalkboard. Hermione didn't even bother looking at it. After brewing it multiple times while on the run in the hunt for Horcruxes, she had the steps of the potion measured in it's entirety.

And so they got to work. At the end of class Slughorn awarded Hermione and Snape twenty points each for getting the farthest out of the rest of the class. Lily would have received twenty as well, except James had sent her a note that hit her elbow at the exact worst time, causing Lily to add the lacewing flies too quickly, requiring her to backtrack a few steps to fix her error. Needless to say, she was not pleased. She didn't even bother reading the note and burned it in the fire underneath her cauldron.

Finally the bell rang, with almost the entire class heaving sighs of relief. They packed up their supplies and the Slytherins left the classroom as quickly as they could, with Slughorn shouting the homework at them over the din, while the Gryffindors stayed behind to interrogate Hermione.

"In one day you got us 250 points, Mya! That's got to be a school record!"

"That was awesome; you even got farther than Snape and Lily! How did you do that?"

"I was watching you, you didn't even look at the board once, not even to look at the list of ingredients! How do you know how to make this potion so well?"

"Have you ever taken it? Because the way you described the effects of the transformation, that sounded like firsthand experience to me!"

"How many times have you made it?"

"You got invited into the Slug Club on your first day! Usually it takes him at least a week to examine new prospects and decide if he likes them or not."

"Are you always this smart?"

"Do you think we can get this many points in our other classes with her?"

"Oy, Grey, come on, fess up!"

"Spill the secrets, we're dying to know!"

"Mya?"

"Grey?"

"Hello?"

Hermione had had enough. "Everybody, calm down! I read it in a book, I know how to make it because I've watched other people make it before, and I don't know how I got farther than Lily and Snape, I just did! I've never taken it, I've never made it before, and I don't know what is going on with the Slug Club. I'd like to think that I'm always this smart, and I would really appreciate it if you didn't use me to win House Points."

She took a deep breath after that and continued. "Now, I have a free period at the moment, and I intend to use it to write that three-foot long essay Slughorn just assigned to us. So if you'll all excuse me..."

"I'll show you where the Library is!" Lily offered.

Hermione smiled at her kindly. "Thanks for that Lily, but I know where the Library is. It's one of the first places I made sure I knew how to get to when I arrived." That was true, since when she was a First Year she had sought it out the second she had a moment to spare. Hermione took a deep breath and smiled again, this time at everyone. "I'll see you guys later."

And then she walked out, leaving the boys gaping, the girls smiling, and all thinking _I think I'm going to like Mya Grey._


	9. Stories and Conversations

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Stories and Conversations

_Hermione smiled at her kindly. "Thanks for that Lily, but I know where the Library is. It's one of the first places I made sure I knew how to get to when I arrived." That was true, since when she was a First Year she had sought it out the second she had a moment to spare. Hermione took a deep breath and smiled again, this time at everyone. "I'll see you guys later."_

_And then she walked out, leaving the boys gaping, the girls smiling, and all thinking _I think I'm going to like Mya Grey.

* * *

Completing Slughorn's assignment, adding an extra six inches of information, and reviewing the essay three times took up Hermione's entire free period. She sighed when she heard the bell ring, because she had enjoyed the familiarity of homework and books. She packed up her things slowly, not wanting to return to reality and face Sirius again.

Hermione paused when she thought about him. Even though she had blown up at him when she had seen him torturing Snape, he had gotten over that fairly quickly once she had earned Gryffindor a significant number of points. Although Hermione suspected that once the happiness wore off her actions would re-register in his mind and he would act differently. There hadn't really been enough time for her to notice how he would deal with her stopping him, so she would be working blind for a while.

Finally Hermione gave a mental shrug when she realized that after everything that she had gone through, and doing everything she planned to do, dealing with the petty feelings of her best friend's godfather was insignificant. She frowned when her mind traveled to the tasks she had put on herself.

The destruction of the Horcruxes.

She hadn't really talked to Dumbledore about it, so she didn't know what was really going on. She frowned, and decided to talk with him during her free period after lunch. With that thought in mind, Hermione finished packing up and began the trek to the Great Hall.

Her feet were on autopilot as she made her way down to lunch, since her brain was occupied with her plans on how to destroy the the parts of Voldemort's soul. She didn't know when he had made them all, so Hermione was unsure whether they had all been made yet. She gave another mental shrug when she realized that if they weren't all created, then that meant less work for her to do.

Hermione was jolted out of her thoughts when Lily appeared next to her out of the blue at the entranceway to the Great Hall.

"Hey Mya. Come on, sit with us."

"Thanks Lily, but-"

"No buts! And it's just me, Alice, and Mary. You won't have to deal with Sirius just yet, he's sitting at the other end of the table with James, Remus and Peter."

"Ummm... thanks- I guess."

"Oh, and when you do see Sirius, don't worry about it. He's still a little miffed about what you did, but after winning so many points for us and giving Gryffindor a clear advantage over Slytherin, he's mostly gotten over it. He may act a little cold for a while, but I can guarantee that he'll get over it before the week is over."

By this time they had reached the Gryffindor table, where Alice and Mary were already seated and eating.

"Mya! Good to see you haven't hidden in the Library for the rest of the day. Lily does that all the time, especially after encounters with James."

"Quiet Mary, I do not hide in the Library!"

"Hate to break it to you Lily, but you do," Alice murmured quietly.

Before Lily could say anything in response, Hermione intervened.

"So, what was with Sirius and Snape?"

All three girls exchanged glances.

"Well, it's sort of complicated-" Alice began, but was interrupted by Mary.

"They hate each other. Plain and simple. And it's not just Sirius, it's James too. He's backed off a bit for the past few years, but he doesn't hesitate to let Sirius at him, which is just as bad in my opinion."

"It's ridiculous, this grudge of theirs. No one even knows how it all started, I don't think even they do. It's just that for years they've ended up dueling pretty much every time they see each other." Lily commented with irritation in her voice complemented by a rolling of her eyes.

"You think you don't know how it all started Lily. But deep down inside..." Mary said in a teasing voice right before sticking her forkful of salad into her mouth. She smirked at Lily as she chewed.

"I've told you a thousand times, this has nothing to do with me!"

Mary and Alice both rolled their eyes and continued eating their lunches. For a few seconds, Hermione just looked at them, wondering what they were talking about. Even though she had a pretty good idea already.

"Ummmm... what do you mean?" she asked.

Mary smirked again as Lily once again rolled her eyes. "Well, everyone knows that James has liked Lily for years. He asks her out at the most random times, but she always turns him down. Tends to insult him in the process too." Mary said with a wink at Lily, which prompted yet another eye roll. Then she leaned closer to Hermione as if confiding in a secret, her face serious. "No one knows exactly how long he's liked her, but the fighting between James and Snape started at almost the exact time as when James first started to show that he liked her. There was always tension between them, mainly because of the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin rivalry that you may have heard about. You would think that since Snape was friends with Lily at the time that the Marauders would be nicer to him, but it seemed like it made them hate him even more."

"And then there was the incident at the end of Fifth Year." Alice whispered.

"Mya probably doesn't want to hear anymore gossip-" Lily began, obviously trying to stop the conversation that was about to take place.

"Oh, shush Lily. If she plans on continuing to do what she did before Potions then she has a right to know exactly what she's getting into." Mary pointed out.

Lily grimaced, but didn't say anything more to stop them from talking.

"Anyways," Alice said with a glance at Lily with an apologetic look, "Right after one of our O.W.L.'s, I don't remember which one, and it doesn't really matter-"

_Defense Against the Dark Arts _Hermione thought, recalling what Harry had told her about this incident.

"but James started hexing Snape for no apparent reason. I think he said later that they were _bored._Bored. Like it was just a game. Like they weren't embarrassing or hurting anyone." Alice took a deep breath and looked like she was about to rant a bit more before Mary cut her off.

"And then Lily intervened. She and Snape were still friends at this point, although no one, not even her," she said with a jerk of her thumb in Lily's direction, "knew why. This was one of those random moments I told you about, where James asked her out."

"What did you say Lily?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I said no, of course! He said that he would stop torturing Severus if I agreed to go out with him! I-"

"So Lily intervened, turned James down _again, _and Snape?" Mary interrupted quickly, "Was he grateful? Was he glad that his only friend in the entire school, maybe the world, was sticking up for him? No! Like an arse, he insults her, calling her the worst possible word. He called her a-" Mary glanced around quickly, as if looking for eavesdroppers, leaned in once more, and then whispered very quietly: "a mudblood."

Mary straightened up and flipped her bangs out of her eyes. "And after that, of course James gets angry that 'Evans' was called the most derogatory word there is, and wants to defend her honor." she ended dramatically.

"And so everyone insulted each other some more, Lily stormed off, James kept torturing Snape, and things have been like that ever since." Alice finished.

"Except, like I said, James has toned down on the humiliation a bit. But he still has no problem with hexing Snape, except now he waits for a better reason. I think the last time I actually saw him curse Snape was when he was about to hex Peter."

"Anyways, we think that Snape was worried that Lily would actually go out with James, and that's why things escalated like they did when James first started to like Lily. We don't really know why he would be worried, maybe because he was afraid that James would make Lily hate him, but it doesn't really matter."

The rest of the lunch period was spent talking about various other confrontations between James, Sirius, and Snape. It surprised Hermione at how much animosity the three showed.

"And then somehow, even though you wouldn't think it was possible, things got worse last year. James and Sirius got into some kind of fight, and Snape hated them even more. He took nearly every opportunity he had to hex them. The professors practically began to follow those three around to make sure that nothing happened. Of course, they were pretty subtle about it, but it's kind of hard to ignore that when you usually never see the teachers in the hallways between classes, and then they are suddenly everywhere you go." Mary said, breaking through Hermione's reverie.

"What?" Hermione said, startled. "What happened?"

"No one knows." Alice said with a shrug. "That's the big mystery. All anyone knows for sure is that James got mad at something Sirius had done, and whatever it was made Snape angrier than anyone had ever seen. And I swear, every once and a while he looks _afraid. _It's hard to describe, but you see it in his eyes sometimes. But about a week after whatever it was, James and Sirius were best friends again. Those two are inseparable."

But Hermione didn't hear that last bit. _Something that made James get mad at Sirius, and made Snape hate them even more... _Her eyes widened as she came to the only possible conclusion. _Of course! Sirius told Snape how to get down the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack! James didn't agree with it, and went to save Snape, but Snape thought that it was both of their ideas. He just thought that they were willing to kill him, making him hate them even more. He _would _look a little afraid, knowing that Remus was a werewolf. And with no Wolfsbane Potion yet, there would be nothing to keep the wolf from attacking..._

It saddened Hermione to think that even in around sixteen years, Sirius would not regret telling Snape how to get down the tunnel. He had said so himself, saying that Snape had gotten what he deserved for sneaking around and trying to find out their secret. She sighed, knowing that there was little she could do to change Sirius' view on Snape.

The bell rung, once again startling Hermione. She quickly got up, making up some excuse about not finishing Slughorn's essay and needing to go back to the Library and finish it, and headed towards the Headmaster's office. She managed to make it to the stone gargoyle just as Professor Dumbledore was about to say the password.

"Professor!"

He turned, smiled that smile of his, and spoke.

"Miss Grey, how nice to see you. Why don't you come into my office so we can talk about how well you are adjusting?"

As a group of students passed her, she grabbed at the excuse and nodded. They stepped onto the revolving staircase and didn't speak again until they had entered his office and settled down into their respective chairs.

Dumbledore pressed his fingertips together as he leaned his elbows onto the desk. "What can I do for you, Miss Granger?" he asked, surprising Hermione when he used her actual surname.

She got over her surprise fairly quickly as she immediately launched into her reason for talking with him. "I wanted to talk about my mission."

"Aaaaah. I see. What in particular do you want to discuss?"

"Everything. How am I going to be going to the different places where the Horcruxes are hidden? How am I going to destroy them? What will I do if I can't get past one of the defenses? What-"

Dumbledore held up his hand to stop the flow of breathless questions. "First and foremost, we would need to find a way to destroy the Horcruxes. It would be pointless to retrieve them if we can't do anything to them afterwards."

"We?"

The Headmaster looked straight into her eyes, the twinkle in them gone. "Yes. We. I will not leave you to do this alone. While I have many other duties to attend to, with Lord Voldemort on the rise, I may not be able to give as much attention to this matter as I would like. However, I will do my best."

"So... I will have to do some of this alone."

"Correct."

"Right. So, what are we going to do to destroy the Horcruxes?"

"What did you do to destroy them in your time?"

"Let's see... the first one was stabbed with a basilisk's tooth, the second with Gryffindor's sword, the third-"

"Gryffindor's sword? How is that possible?"

Hermione grimaced at the question. She could think about the destruction of Horcruxes just fine without thinking about THEM, but answering Dumbledore's query would mean remembering Harry. She steeled herself for the story.

"Harry pulled it out of the Sorting Hat when he faced Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets- that's not just a legend, by the way. Tom was a Horcrux and was taking the life of a good friend of mine to make himself stronger, so he had a form. Fawkes brought down the Sorting Hat, Harry put it on, and out came the sword.

"Harry used it to stab the basilisk hiding in the Chamber, causing the goblin metal in the sword to absorb the venom and be able to use it to make itself stronger."

"And the venom of the basilisk is one of the only things that can destroy a Horcrux." Dumbledore murmured. "Impressive."

"Yeah." Hermione whispered, her eyes far away as she was swamped by memories of her past.

Professor Dumbledore seemed to notice, for he prompted her to continued. "And the third Horcrux?"

Hermione shook her head free of her thoughts, and continued down the list. "The third was also stabbed by Gryffindor's sword, the fourth stabbed by another basilisk tooth, the fifth burned in Fiendfyre, the sixth was decapitated by Gryffindor's sword, the seventh killed by the Killing Curse, well, sort of."

Dumbledore raised one of his eyebrows. "Could you elaborate on what exactly each of the Horcruxes was?"

So Hermione took a deep breath and briefly explained about the diary, the ring, the locket, the cup, the diadem, Nagini, and Harry.

The professor leaned back in his chair as he contemplated the significance of each one of those objects. Soon, however, Hermione was back to her questions.

"So how am I going to destroy the Horcruxes? If I have to I'll go down to the Chamber of Secrets again and kill the basilisk so I can use it's teeth, but I would prefer a different option. We can't use Gryffindor's sword since it hasn't killed the basilisk yet, and I am extremely hesitant to cast Fiendfyre."

Dumbledore frowned, the asked, "How much would it affect the future if we were to kill the basilisk?"

This time it was Hermione's turn to frown. "I don't know. Not much, if we destroy the diary, since that was what started that whole mess."

The Headmaster frowned once more, then shook his head. "I am not willing to put you in that much risk Miss Granger."

Hermione let go of the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "That's good, I suppose, but then what should we do? Use Fiendfyre?"

"Yes." His eyebrows furrowed as he thought the situation through. "You mentioned the Room of Requirement, so we could ask it to create a room where we can store the Horcruxes, alone, where only you or I could access it. We could make it a room that will not affect the rest of the school and will not damage anything else when _I _cast Fiendfyre. The Horcruxes can stay there for as long as we need them to, until we have gathered them all and can destroy them at the same time."

Hermione mulled the idea over and agreed that that was probably the best they could do under the circumstances. It actually made quite a bit of sense.

"Okay, so then how am I going to be going to the places where they are hidden?"

"I can take you there using Side-Along Apparition."

"What if they aren't in the same place now than then? The cup at the very least probably isn't in the Lestrange vault, since Bellatrix hasn't been married yet. Although Voldemort may have originally entrusted the cup to Rodolphus..."

Dumbledore was nodding in agreement. "Yes, I have suspected Rodolphus to be one of Lord Voldemort's most trusted followers. It is possible the cup is there."

"But what if it isn't? I have no idea where else it would be!"

"I believe that should be one trip that I will make alone. I once did a favor for one of the goblins at Gringotts, and they do not like to feel indebted. He is no friend of Voldemort, and may be willing to help in bringing about his demise. He would be more inclined to do me a favor if I was alone, not wanting someone else, especially a human, to see that he is in my debt."

Hermione nodded in understanding, knowing after her experience with Griphook and from History of Magic what goblins were like. It would also be a lot easier than trying to break in and get past all of the defenses. While she may have been able to do it once, she very much doubted her ability to do it a second time.

"What happens if I cannot get past their defenses? I wasn't there to see how it was done for all of them, in fact I only know how to access two. One of which you will be taking care of. Even though two Horcruxes have not yet been created, that still leaves three others we need to deal with."

"We will deal with their defenses once we know for sure what those defenses happen to be."

Hermione took a deep breath before asking her next question.

"What happens if I fail?"

* * *

While Hermione was talking with Professor Dumbledore, Sirius was thinking. He was currently laying in his bed, his hands behind his head, staring up, his eyes not really focused on anything.

Sirius was mulling over that which was Mya Grey.

She was a mystery, that was for sure. He was nearly positive that she had lost her parents, making her an orphan, although he wasn't sure. She hid her emotions well, but Sirius was well versed in reading other people. That was one lesson his parents had forced him to undergo that he had actually learned.

She also knew the passageways of Hogwarts like the back of her hand. Ones that the Marauders hadn't even discovered. It wasn't just last night either. This morning, while she was talking with Remus before breakfast, Sirius had followed them. While his friend may have been too engrossed in their conversation to realize it, Hermione had led the way through tapestries and tunnels that had taken Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter years to find.

Then there was the way that Mya had stopped him from bullying Snape. It wasn't that she had been right about him _(It wasn't!), _it was that her anger did not seem to stem from a dislike from watching bullies, or from a dislike of violence. It was personal with her. The only thing that made sense was that she had once been bullied, which _didn't _make sense. That's what confused him so much. She was so confident of herself that it was almost impossible to see anyone making fun of her and getting away with it.

Sirius sighed for the tenth time in as many minutes. He knew that people expected him to shun her, ridicule her, possibly hex her, after what she had done this morning. Except his respect for her had been raised by the fact that she stood up to him. So many girls were self-centered and thought only of themselves, or were too arrogant to care about others, or lacked the backbone to stand up to anyone, or cared too much about their appearances to defend others and went along with the crowd.

But he disliked her for ruining his game. He did enjoy tormenting Snape for no good reason, although earlier today he had tried to figure out why and couldn't come up with anything. There was just something about insulting someone so snide and hateful that got to him.

Subconsciously, he knew a different reason. Sirius would never admit to it consciously though. Because somewhere in his mind, he knew that there was the possibility that that could have been him. He could have been the person that everyone was disgusted with and hated. Had he been sorted into Slytherin, he knew that the others would have seen him as a disgrace and shunned him. His current friends may never have spoken to him because of his house (even though another part of him knew that he and James would have been friends no matter what after the train ride to Hogwarts their very first time.)

But it was still there. Even though Sirius was only barely aware of it, in the deepest recesses of his subconscious, that though was there.

That could have been him.

* * *

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	10. Duels in DADA

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Duels in DADA

_Hermione took a deep breath before asking her next question._

_"What happens if I fail?"_

Dumbledore sighed. "If needed, Professor McGonagall or myself would take up this burden."

"I need you to promise Professor. I won't be able to do this unless I am absolutely certain that even if something happens to me, Voldemort can still be defeated."

Professor Dumbledore looked Hermione in the eye and said in a voice that was completely honest, "I promise."

Hermione released the breath she had been holding. "Thank you."

Right then the bell rung for Hermione's next class, Double Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins.

"You should get to class now Miss Grey."

Hermione nodded and left his office. Now that she had talked things over with Dumbledore, she felt slightly reassured. Of course, the nerves would never truly go away, she knew that from experience, but the knowledge that if she were to die and someone would still be there to destroy the remaining Horcruxes was comforting.

Satisfied, Hermione turned her thoughts to her next class, with an unknown teacher. Mary had pointed her out at the staff table during breakfast, but Hermione hadn't really gotten a good look, her thoughts still on Bellatrix at the time. Apparently she was new, and the person who had filled the post last year had fallen off of a cliff and then was attacked by a hippogriff. He was currently recovering in St. Mungo's. Mary had jokingly told her about how the position was said to be cursed. If only they knew.

When Hermione arrived at the DADA room, the door was closed and all the other students were already there. Lily glanced up from her conversation with Mary and Alice and beckoned her over. As Hermione walked over she looked around at the other students.

The Marauders were leaning casually against a wall, or at least trying to. Peter was having some problems with pulling off the air of nonchalance that came naturally to James and Sirius. He seemed to realize it was a wasted effort since he soon curled up into a ball and stared in awe at James. Remus was standing in front of James and Sirius with his arms folded calmly as he laughed at something Sirius had said. James and Sirius looked almost like twins, the way they both had their arms folded and their legs crossed in an identical manner. It reminded Hermione with a pang of Fred and George.

The three Slytherins from the run-in with Hermione were just standing in a huddle, sending surreptitious glances every once in a while at her. Snape was sitting against a wall, away from everyone as he read what looked like the DADA textbook. He gave Hermione a curt nod when her eyes rested on him. She nodded back.

"So, Mya, what do you think the professor will be like?" Mary asked eagerly.

"I hope she knows what she's doing. Last year Professor Gillius was hopelessly lost. I feel sorry for the students that had him for the O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s. No idea how they could have passed." Alice added.

"It's no wonder he fell off of that cliff. He didn't know left from right!" Mary commented with a roll of her eyes.

"Dumbledore hired him for a reason." Lily said diplomatically.

"Because no one else would take the job. No one has been able to hold that position for more than a year for forever. Neither one of my parents had someone for more than a year, and that was around twenty years ago. Everyone says it's cursed." Alice said quietly, looking at her feet.

There was an awkward silence as the four contemplated that statement. Hermione hadn't spoken, since she didn't know Professor Gillius, and she wasn't supposed to know a lot about the curse.

"Does anyone even know her name?" Lily asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Just the professors I suppose." Mary said thoughtfully. "Dumbledore didn't introduce her at the Welcoming Feast, and we're her first class."

"Well, she looked pretty serious this morning." Alice pointed out.

"Talking about me?" Sirius asked with a grin. Somehow he and the other three had managed to sneak up on the girls as they were talking.

"Of course Sirius, I had forgotten that the world revolves around you." Lily said snidely.

"Obviously Lily, nice to see you've finally caught on!" Sirius shot back with a smirk.

"So, Mya, what was your old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor like?" Remus asked, stopping Lily from saying anything back. Lily shut her mouth and clenched her teeth, shooting one last glare at Sirius before turning to listen to Hermione's response.

"Oh, he was..." Hermione thought quickly, "mean. He wasn't necessarily a bad teacher, he just didn't like a lot of the students." She winced slightly as she thought about how Professor Snape would subtly insult her for practically quoting the textbook. "He did manage to teach us how to do nonverbal spells."

"You know how to do nonverbal spells?" James asked in surprise.

"We don't learn those until this year." Remus added in shock, with a hint of awe laced in his voice.

"Oh. Well, I guess I shouldn't have too much trouble in this class then." Hermione said, a little embarrassed at how everyone was now staring at her.

"Not just this class. All the teachers are going to be expecting us to use nonverbal spells." Lily said.

Before Hermione could say anything in reply, the door to the classroom swung open, this time with no one to greet them. Apprehensive, the Gryffindors slowly walked in, soon followed by the Slytherins.

The classroom was set up differently than the others. Instead of desks for two people in rows, there were no desks. Now there were only rows of chairs in the back while there was a large platform floating about two feet above the ground in the front. There was no teacher's desk, and the door to the professor's office was closed. The actual professor was nowhere to be found.

Unsure of themselves, the students sat themselves down in the chairs, the Gryffindors in the front, Slytherins in the back.

Hermione examined the room carefully, trusting her instincts that were telling her that she was being watched. She slowly extracted her wand from her robes and clutched it tightly in her hand.

There! The almost imperceptible indentation on the carpet of the platform. Hermione smiled to herself. A Disillusionment Charm, and their professor was standing, no, now pacing, on the platform.

"Good afternoon class." Came a disembodied voice of a woman. Many students jumped in their chairs, while others quickly jerked their heads in the direction of the sound. Hermione was the only one who showed no signs of surprise, something that did not go unnoticed by a certain student.

"My name is Professor Wiccara. Fey Wiccara," she continued, as if talking to a classroom of students invisible was an everyday occurrence. "I will be this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

" 'This year's?' " Lily seemed to have recovered enough to ask. "Are you only going to teach for one year?"

The voice chuckled. "I'm invisible and the first question you ask is if I'm going to be teaching only one year." Hermione was sure that if she could see the woman, she would be shaking her head. "Yes, one year. One year working at Hogwarts and then I go back to being an Auror."

"You're an Auror?" James asked.

"Yes, I am. I have to take a year off for reasons you won't ask about, and then I'm going back." The pacing had stopped, and the indentations were now in the center of the platform. Her tone of voice left no room for argument.

"Any questions?" The smallest vibration in Hermione's feet almost immediately after the indentations disappeared. Hermione guessed that she had hopped off of the platform.

Suddenly a woman in black robes appeared. she had shoulder-length straight brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to take in everything with one glance. She was about 5' 6" with a rounded, moderately attractive face. Her pink lips were pursed slightly, and her arms were folded. Her feet were spread apart, her weight perfectly divided between them, granting her perfect balance. One look at her and you knew she was a fighter.

"None?" Professor Wiccara asked, and cocked an eyebrow. "Since you don't have any, I'll ask some. Who can tell me when I entered the room?"

Hermione raised her hand, and once again all eyes were on her. "You've been in the room the entire time."

The professor stared at her for a moment, then said, "Miss Grey, isn't it? Very good. Ten points to Gryffindor. How did she know?" this time directing the last question to the rest of the the class. No one moved. She sighed. "Miss Grey?"

"I saw the indentations on the carpet of the platform from your feet. You were standing when we first entered, then you started pacing. Then I felt the vibration in my feet when you hopped off right before you took off the Disillusionment Charm."

"Excellent. 25 points. Did you know that it was a Disillusionment Charm before or after I revealed myself?"

"Neither."

Everyone looked at her in confusion, but Professor Wiccara just smiled broadly in response.

"I think the others are confused by that Miss Grey. Care to explain to them what you mean?"

"I don't know for sure that you cast the Disillusionment Charm. I could be wrong, but that possibility is unlikely. I _theorized _that it was a Disillusionment Charm before you revealed yourself, however."

"Fifteen points to Gryffindor. I'm impressed." She broke eye contact with Hermione to look around at the class. "Never assume anything. That is the number one lesson in this class." She turned back to Hermione, took a few steps forward and looked her in the eye.

"So, what led you to _theorize_ that I used a Disillusionment Charm?"

"Simple. If you were wearing an invisibility cloak," James and Sirius immediately paid more attention to Hermione's words, "and I saw the indentations I would be looking at your feet."

"Take another fifteen points. You have brought up another goal for this year." Professor Wiccara began pacing back and forth in front of the chairs, looking every student in the eye.

"You are going to learn and understand what your surroundings are telling you. But before we do anything else I want to see where you are, how much you've learned. Which is why the classroom is set up this way," spreading her arms out to indicate the changes.

"You're going to duel each other. No Dark Magic allowed, no severe wounding of each other, and do not cast anything that may interfere with my ability to monitor and intervene. Don't even think about endangering your partner's life. Are we clear?" She asked, looking at Bellatrix in particular. The other members of the class gave shocked nods.

"Good. Your partners are already assigned," causing a groan to release from the class, "and are on the board." the professor continued as if no sound had been made, and waved her hand at the board, where a list of names appeared.

"First group, get up onto the platform. Don't begin until I say so."

J. Potter- L. Evans

S. Black- A. Dolohov

R. Lupin- M. Boot

P. Pettigrew- S. Snape

A. Everett- E. Rosier

M. Grey- B. Black

There was another collective groan from everyone when they saw the list.

"Ready Evans?" James asked with an ecstatic look on his face as he stood up.

"Ready to win." Lily replied with determination, accompanied by a soft groan once his back was turned.

They got onto the platform and took their places at opposite ends.

"Begin when ready." was all Professor Wiccara said.

It was over surprisingly quickly, although maybe not to some. It soon became obvious that James couldn't bring himself to actually hit Lily with any kind of spell. Instead he let her take the offensive as he focused on blocking and dodging. It was over when Lily sent a Disarming Charm immediately followed by a Stunner. James managed to block the first one with a quick Shield Charm, but was knocked unconscious by the second. Sirius was laughing as he helped his best friend stand, saying something about love and stupidity.

Lily seemed slightly angry.

"You didn't even try!" She hissed at James. He just shrugged in response.

"What can I say, I can't bring myself to hurt you." he said quietly staring into her eyes, capturing her gaze. Lily couldn't seem to come up with anything in response to that, her mouth opening and closing as her green eyes looked at his hazel ones. Suddenly she seemed to realize what she was doing, and turned away quickly. She sat down and focused her attention on the upcoming duel.

The next took slightly longer, but resulted in a Gryffindor win. Sirius managed to sneak a Disarming Charm in between a _Reducto _and a _Diffindo, _making Dolohov stand there in shock for a few seconds. Sirius took a few dramatic bows to the enthusiastic applause of James, before getting pushed off the platform by Remus, making him land face-first on the ground. This time it was James who was laughing as he helped Sirius up, saying something about attention and stupidity.

Remus seemed to struggle with the same problem as James until he was hit with a _Furnunculus _and ugly boils grew on his face. He quickly got rid of them and sent a flurry of charms and spells that resulted in a surprised Mary staring at her hand where her wand should have been, but was now resting in Remus' where it had landed after being summoned. Remus bowed respectfully to Mary after he returned her wand, when she smacked him behind the head lightly. She grinned and the two talked about the spells and techniques the other had used, complimenting each other often on their way to their seats.

Snape seemed insulted that he was paired with Peter, who looked absolutely terrified as he struggled to climb onto the platform. Sirius, James and Remus encouraged him loudly and James and Sirius insulted Snape thoroughly. Professor Wiccara appeared behind them and leaned against the backs of their chairs.

"What was that, Black, Potter?" she whispered when she slipped her head in between theirs. Both boys jumped and leaned away from their teacher. She chuckled and grinned at them. Once they relaxed, she said, "Ten points from Gryffindor. Don't talk like that in my class." and she moved away quickly.

James and Sirius looked at each other while Remus laughed at the looks on their faces. By then Peter had managed to get to his spot. Wiccara gave them the okay to duel, and it was over before it began. Snape stunned Peter before he had a chance to even open his mouth and summoned his wand. James and Sirius shook their heads and helped to revive Peter and get him to his seat. Peter blushed when they began to tease him for what had happened, and grinned sheepishly.

When Alice faced Rosier, the outcome was surprising. Throughout the fight it seemed that Alice had the upper hand, but her reflexes were just too slow when a Full-Body Bind was sent her way. Mary and Lily glared at Rosier as he smirked at them and jumped off the platform. They then took off the spell and comforted Alice as she sat down. Hermione couldn't hear much of it, but there were quite a few 'git', 'arse', and 'idiot' comments.

Finally it was Hermione's turn.

When she had first seen her 'name' on the board next to Bellatrix', she had been horrified. A split second later found her to realize that this was not the woman she knew. She knew Bellatrix Lestrange, a woman who had gone crazy from numerous years in Azkaban and had been a Death Eater for years before incarceration.

"Be careful with Bellatrix, she's the best dueler in our year." whispered Lily.

"Because she cheats, uses spells she's not supposed to, and everyone she's faced has been terrified of her." added Mary.

"But don't worry about it. You'll be fine." Alice said, but without any real conviction.

Hermione nodded in acknowledgment. _But I've dealt with the fully-grown Bellatrix Lestrange who was one of Voldemort's right-hand people. I can handle Bellatrix Black, the student who isn't crazy. Yet._

As Hermione stepped onto the platform and walked over to her position, Bellatrix did the same. They faced each other at opposite ends of the rectangular dais, and Bella smirked. Her face was full of a smug sense of superiority, which irked Hermione to no end. After the torture that she had undergone and the person before her had yet to inflict, Hermione was more than ready to wipe that smirk off of Bella's face.

"You may begin when ready." Professor Wiccara instructed.

Both girls pointed their wands at each other, but neither one cast a spell. They simply stared into the other's eyes, waiting for them to make the first move.

Bellatrix clenched her teeth, the muscles in her face rippling slightly. Hermione's face remained impassive, knowing from experience not to show any emotion that might betray her thoughts. _You can't afford to feel emotion when you are in a duel. _Mad-Eye Moody had once told her. _If you are emotionally invested in the battle, then your emotions will rule and not your brain. You need to use your head to win against Death Eaters. Most are stupider than a pile of dragon dung, but the ones that are smart are sly as well. Your face betrays more than you might think, and you can't give them any kind of an advantage. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!_

Hermione and Bellatrix stared at each other for a few seconds more, while the class muttered in the background. One of the Slytherins, Hermione wasn't sure which, shouted for Bellatrix to hurry up and finish her off. The Gryffindors were nervous, knowing that Bella was a formidable opponent.

Finally Bella couldn't take it any longer.

_"Expelliarmus!"_

_"Protego." _Hermione remained calm, the Shield Charm casted with barely a flick of her wand. She then pointed her wand at Bella once more and waited.

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes.

_"Stupefy!"_

_"Protego."_

_"Reducto!"_

_"Protego."_

It continued like that for a few more spells, Hermione casting the Shield Charm over and over again as Bellatrix tried in vain to get past them. And then Hermione decided it was time to fight back.

_"Expelliarmus!"_

_"Protego!"_

And then it was Bellatrix who was casting the Shield Charm, working furiously to keep it up under the onslaught of hexes that were being delivered as Hermione slowly advanced on her, backing her into the wall. Anger began to surface, evident on her face. Hermione knew that Bella was about to do something desperate to win. She was right.

Bellatrix muttered something under her breath, too soft for Hermione to understand, and suddenly Hermione was blasted backwards, flying through the air and landing on her back. The blow had knocked the wind out of her, but she soon recovered and scrambled to her feet, ready to fight.

The duel resumed with an intense fervor from both parties. Different colored jets of light were flying through the air, some missing, but a few managing to hit their targets. Soon they were hurling more dangerous hexes and curses, the pretense of a classroom exercise completely forgotten. Bellatrix somehow managed to flip Hermione upside down, but she was still fighting well.

Then Bellatrix slipped the counter-curse in between a Stunner and a burst of flame, making Hermione fall ungainly to the ground. Hermione quickly got up and shot a Stunner before her mind had processed what was going on.

Bella had constructed some kind of shield that covered her like a dome, with no way for Hermione to get past it. Inside she was muttering some spells and doing some fancy wand-work as something thin and black, similar to a cloak, slipped from the tip of her wand.

None of the occupants of the room seemed to understand what Bella was trying to do, Hermione included. She could only watch in fascination as the thing rippled and contorted, as if trying to escape from the confines of Bella's wand. Professor Wiccara seemed intrigued, although a little apprehensive.

Finally the black cloak-like thing managed to twist it's way out of the tip of the wand and fell to the ground. Bellatrix's face was now tired, but fiercely exultant. She looked at the thing, pointed her wand at Hermione, and smirked grotesquely. The shield didn't disappear, but it did expand to cover the entire platform so that Professor Wiccara would not be able to interfere.

Suddenly everything clicked in Hermione's mind as the black thing slowly made its way toward her. After reading through _Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them _several times, she could only deduce that it was a Lethifold, also known as Living Shroud.

The shield that Bellatrix had extended could only be for the purpose of making sure that the professor would not be able to stop the Lethifold from killing and devouring her. If her life wasn't in danger, Hermione would have been analyzing her memories for clues as to how her opponent had managed to conjure up such a dangerous creature, but at the moment she was too busy trying to remember how to keep herself alive.

_Lethifolds... very rare creatures, found solely in the tropics... well not anymore, but... attacks sleeping wizards... first known account of a Lethifold attack was in 1782 by Flavius Belby... first used a Stupefying Charm, then an Impediment Hex... and then he used a Patronus!_

Quickly sifting through her memories for the happiest one she could find, Hermione settled on how she had felt when she had flung herself at Ron after he had shown compassion for the House Elves, and the kiss that followed. The Lethifold was now only about six feet from her when she cried out, _"Expecto Patronum!"_

A silver otter burst from the tip of her wand and swam through the air to attack the Lethifold, which was now fleeing back to it's conjurer. Bellatrix's eyes widened as the being came upon her and slashed her wand through the air in anger, the Lethifold being sucked into it.

Hermione used this moment of distraction to quickly cast a Stunner, knocking Bellatrix unconscious the second the last bit of black disappeared, also causing the shield to fall. Not wanting to take any other chances, Hermione Summoned her wand, stepped off the platform, and handed it to Professor Wiccara, who seemed to have a knowing smile on her face.

The entire classroom was completely silent until Wiccara revived Bellatrix, whose anger and displeasure immediately showed. It also seemed to wake up the Gryffindors, who burst into applause and cheered. The Slytherins, on the other hand, scowled at Hermione and refused to look at Bella, not wanting to incur her wrath.

When Hermione reached the others, they were immediately patting her on the back and shaking her hand, all talking at once.

"That was amazing Mya!"

"You can cast a Patronus?"

"Where did you learn how to duel like that?"

"You took down Bellatrix! Every time we've done in class duels she's always won!"

"What was that thing?"

"Have you seen one of them before?"

"How did you know to use a Patronus?"

"More importantly, how do you know how to cast a Patronus?"

"QUIET!"

Everyone quickly sat down and shut up at the commanding tone of voice Professor Wiccara used.

"The bell is going to ring in a few minutes, so I'll be quick. Fifteen points to everyone who won their duel, five points to all who lost, and congratulations to everyone. This really has helped me figure out what we need to work on. Oh, and fifty points to Miss Grey for being able to cast a fully corporeal Patronus Charm." Her brown, intelligent eyes rested on Hermione. "For someone so young to do something so powerful... that is impressive." Wiccara smiled, still looking at Hermione. Then a look of disappointment and barely concealed anger crossed her face as she looked at Bellatrix. "Miss Black, Miss Grey, I would like to see both of you after class.

Hermione nodded, but looked confused as to why her professor wanted to speak with her. Bellatrix looked murderous as she glared at Hermione, but nodded nonetheless.

The babble that began after Wiccara conjured up a quill and parchment and began to write was soon interrupted by the bell. The Gryffindors left while replaying their own duels with pride or talking about Hermione's duel with awe. The Slytherins slowly trudged out with their backs hunched, shame apparent from their bowed heads. A quiet hiss from Bellatrix and their backs straightened and arrogance once again exuded from their skin.

Hermione and Bellatrix remained seated at opposite ends of the row. Professor Wiccara kept scribbling something down, the scratching of the quill against parchment cutting through the silence. A few moments later she rolled up the parchment and tapped it with her wand, making it disappear. She then tapped her quill, making that disappear as well. Wiccara walked over to the platform, turned around, and leaned against it as she folded her arms.

"First of all, I wanted to congratulate you again, Miss Grey. Your Patronus was, as I said, impressive, as was the rest of your handiwork," her brown, intelligent eyes resting on Hermione.

"I also wanted to apologize. I should have been able to stop the Lethifold before it got anywhere near you, but the shield Miss Black created was very strong. I regret to say that I would not have been able to get past it before the creature was upon you.

"Which brings me to Miss Black's creations. First, you create a shield that kept me from interfering, after I specifically said not too, and creating a shield that was obviously Dark Magic, since it attempted to drain my life when I tried to take it down. Then you deliberately endanger the life of another student.

"I have sent a message to Professor Dumbledore, who should be arriving shortly, along with Professor Slughorn. The three of us will decide what punishment is suitable. Miss Grey is here because I think that her opinion will be valuable in this matter."

Silence followed her little speech. Hermione was slightly nervous as to why her opinion might matter. Bellatrix simply folded both her arms and legs as she sneered, looking like she didn't care what her sentence may be.


	11. Punishment

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Punishment

_"I have sent a message to Professor Dumbledore, who should be arriving shortly, along with Professor Slughorn. The three of us will decide what punishment is suitable. Miss Grey is here because I think that her opinion will be valuable in this matter."_

_Silence followed her little speech. Hermione was slightly nervous as to why her opinion might matter. Bellatrix simply folded both her arms and legs as she sneered, looking like she didn't care what her sentence may be._

Then Professor Wiccara closed her eyes and bowed her head, as if thinking. Hermione began tapping her foot in nervousness as Bellatrix simply sat there, staring at the ceiling and looking extremely bored.

After a few more seconds of this silence, Wiccara's eyes snapped open and were directed to the open door. She stood up just as Professor Dumbledore, closely followed by a waddling Professor Slughorn, entered the classroom. The Headmaster's piercing blue eyes settled on Bellatrix, who was still staring at the ceiling, not even acknowledging the presence of the two men.

"Fey, m'dear, what's the meaning of this?" Slughorn asked as he settled down into a chair that creaked slightly under the weight.

"It's quite simple Horus. We were performing mock duels in class so that I could judge how much the students have learned, and when it was Miss Black's turn to duel Miss Grey she tried to kill her."

"Nonsense, none of my students would ever think of doing such a thing!" Slughorn said with a wave of his hand, trying to dismiss the matter. Although he seemed to be trying to remain calm, his trembling hands and the slight perspiration on his forehead belied that fact.

"I beg to differ." Wiccara said with clenched teeth, "Seeing as how _your student _conjured up a Lethifold, which happens to be a Class 5 Being, or in case you don't know, a known wizard killer that is impossible to train or domesticate!" She began shout and waved her arms to emphasize certain points, along with advancing slowly on Slughorn. "It's one of the most deadly creatures out there! The only reason Miss Grey is still alive is because she knew enough about Lethifolds to know that a Patronus Charm is the only thing that can stop one, and is lucky enough to know how to cast it!" Wiccara took a deep breath to try and calm herself down, now only a few feet away, with Slughorn pushing himself backwards into the chair, shrinking away from the witch. "Not only did she try and commit murder, she conjured up a Dark Magic Shield. When I tried to remove it, it began to drain my life away!"

(Lethifold and classification taken from _Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them _by JKR under the alias Newt Scamander.)

Professor Dumbledore placed a hand on Wiccara's arm, making her calm down instantly.

"I think it would be best to take this discussion into my office. If you would all follow me?" Dumbledore said and then swept out of the room, leaving the others to follow. Hermione immediately jumped out of her chair and walked behind the Headmaster. Wiccara moved over to Bellatrix and glared at her, waiting for the teenager to move. Bellatrix stayed in her position for a few more seconds, until she stood up and walked out, as if it was all her idea. Wiccara rolled her eyes and made her way behind the student. Slughorn struggled for a few seconds to raise his girth out of the chair, but managed to do it and waddled quickly behind the others.

It was silent as they all treaded the path up to Dumbledore's office. When they reached the gargoyle, he stated the password and they proceeded up the moving staircase to the room full of whirring instruments.

As he made his way around to his chair, the Headmaster waved his hand and four chairs, one significantly larger than the others, appeared in front of his desk. Hermione sat down in the one to the far right, with Wiccara on her left. Bellatrix sneered at the arrangement, for she was stuck between Wiccara and Slughorn since the Potions Master had chosen the large chair which was to the far left. She settled herself down casually, folded her arms, and stared out the window.

Professor Dumbledore rested his elbows on the table and pressed his fingertips together as he leaned forward. He looked each of them in the eye, then sighed lightly.

"Fey, will you please tell us what happened?"

"Well, it started off quite nicely. The two didn't make a move for a few minutes, but then Miss Black cast the first spell, which Miss Grey blocked. Miss Black continued to send spells, curses, and hexes at Miss Grey, while they were continually deflected. Then the situations were reversed and the one casting the spells were Miss Grey while they were blocked by Miss Black. At some point Miss Black sent a spell that knocked Miss Grey off her feet, and after that both of them began to send more serious spells and curses at each other. At the rate things were escalating, I was planning on stopping them soon, but then Miss Black constructed her shield.

"I tried to take down the shield at that point, but I could feel my energy leaving my body when I tried. After a few diagnostic spells I found that my energy was being used to power the shield. I tried to tell Miss Black to take it down," at this Hermione started, wondering why she hadn't heard anything, "but she was busy working her next bit of magic." The anger in her voice was obvious, but subdued.

"You could see the Lethifold at that point, although it wasn't apparent as to what it was. Then it slipped out of the tip of Miss Black's wand. The shield began to expand to cover the Lethifold as it made its way towards Miss Grey. When it was only a few feet away Miss Grey conjured up a Patronus in the form of an otter which somehow penetrated the shield and sent the Lethifold back towards Miss Black, where it flowed back into her wand. I think this made her lose her concentration, for the shield fell once the Lethifold disappeared. The instant the shield was down Miss Grey Stunned Miss Black and Summoned her wand."

Hermione blinked a few times. This story seemed odd. It was accurate, of course, but a few details surprised her. Once she saw the Lethifold leave the wand she hadn't noticed the shield expanding, she had just focused on how to drive away that thing. She also hadn't realized that her otter had actually gone through the shield, her mind so intent upon her happy thoughts of Ron and the kiss.

After a few more seconds of pondering, Hermione shrugged mentally. She figured that she had just been so focused on the battle that a few details escaped her, even though that was extremely unlike her. Even when she was eleven and standing in front of a three-headed dog that she was sure was going to kill her, she had noticed that it was standing on a trap door. Oh well.

Concentrating once again on the conversation at hand, Hermione listened to Bellatrix admit fully to what she had done, offering no excuses or explanations, even when pressed by all three professors.

Professor Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, his hands now settled on the armrests.

"Miss Grey, your thoughts?"

Hermione looked extremely confused. "What do you mean Professor?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly. "What do you think of the situation?"

"Well, I don't really know. I suppose it was wrong of Bellatrix to do what she did, but since I'm not hurt-"

"It doesn't matter." Professor Wiccara interrupted. "She deliberately attacked a student and tried to kill her! Miss Black should be expelled!"

"Now, now, Fey," Slughorn chuckled. "Let's not be hasty."

"Hasty!? How am I being hasty? If there was some sort of plausible explanation for Miss Black's actions, though I can't see any that I would be content with, then perhaps that would be _hasty,_" spitting the word out like an insult, "but she didn't give any excuse whatsoever! Nothing. She didn't even deny it! What else should be done?"

"Fey, as detestable as her actions were, expulsion is a very serious punishment. I would hate to take away a student's education."

"Fine." Wiccara said, throwing her hands into the air, then folding them across her chest. "Then I will not settle for anything less than detention for the rest of the term, and a letter home to her parents. I'd much rather prefer detention for the rest of the year, but you wouldn't let me do that, would you Horus?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that m'dear." Slughorn said, chuckling some more. "But why don't we give her detention for the rest of the term, as you suggested, and then decide if she needs further punishment over the holidays." He settled back, pleased with his idea.

Wiccara didn't look happy, obviously convinced that Slughorn wouldn't let her extend the detention to the end of the year.

"I agree with Horus on this Fey. I think that would be the best solution. Although I would request that all five of us make the decision."

The other four occupants of the room stared at Dumbledore, including Bellatrix, the statement breaking through her bored look.

"Five of us?" Slughorn boomed in surprise. "You want Miss Grey to be here again?"

"Yes." Professor Dumbledore said calmly. "I think that her opinion could be valuable, don't you think Fey?"

Wiccara looked surprised, but pleased. "Of course. The attempted murder victim should be present."

Slughorn just sighed at that, as if he though it was an exaggeration but not wanting to get into another argument.

"All right. Be at my office at eight o'clock sharp Miss Black. I think Argus will probably need some help on his first day back, don't you?"

Bellatrix's eyes widened, looking absolutely appalled.

"I don't think so." she hissed. "Cleaning is for House-Elves. I will not degrade myself by doing such a lowly task."

Professor Wiccara just smirked, as if she had expected that response. "You will do it Miss Black, or I will write home and tell your parents exactly how you disgraced your House and the Black family. I doubt they will be happy with you when they find out, will they." she smirked again, knowing that the only way to get to a Pureblood family like hers was to threaten their name.

"Well," Dumbledore clapped his hands, "I think it's time for dinner, don't you? I think they're serving some delicious roast beef tonight, so why don't we all go down and enjoy some?"

Slowly everyone got up and walked down to the Great Hall.

The second Hermione walked through the doors, the room exploded in cheers from three-fourths of the room. All of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws were on their feet clapping and congratulating Hermione. As Bellatrix made her way to the Slytherin table, where they were all sending death-glares to Hermione, those that she passed that supported Hermione jeered at her.

Hermione stood in the doorway for a few seconds, uncertain and embarressed. Then Lily ran up to her and grabbed her hand, yanking her down to sit in between her and Mary, with Alice across from them. The Marauders quickly ran over them and sat with them, James next to Lily, while Sirius sat down to the right of Alice and Remus on her right, with Peter in between Remus and some other Gryffindor that scooted away slightly. Once again everyone began talking at once.

"That was amazing Mya!"

"Take a look at our hourglass, there is no way we won't get the Cup this year!"

"Over three hundred points in one day! No one's ever done that before!"

"What was that thing that attacked you?"

"When did you learn how to cast a fully corporeal Patronus?"

"Keep it up, and we'll have over a million points by the end of the year!"

"The Slytherins don't stand a chance!"

"No one does, not after this head start!"

"I did some reading, was that a Lethifold?"

"No way, a Lethifold is a Class 5 Being! There's no way Bellatrix could get one of those in the school!"

"It fits, if you think about it. Black, appears similar to a cloak, and the only known way to repel it is with a Patronus Charm."

"Believe me, if anyone would know how to do that, it would be my family."

"Well, you're the only decent one in the lot."

"Yeah, the others are maniacs. I can't believe any of us are related.

"Whatever! Mya, can you teach me how to cast a Patronus Charm?"

"Yeah, me too!"

"Count all of us in!"

They all shut up suddenly, waiting for her response.

"Ummmm... sure."

And they were off again.

"Thanks My! Can I call you My?"

"Her name's Mya, is that really so hard to remember?"

"So what, I can't give her a nickname?"

"No you can't, because there's no point."

"It really doesn't matter to me James. Go ahead and call me My."

"Told you Evans!"

"Drop it Potter."

The talk continued to surround Hermione as she sat there, playing around with her food. All the talk about the huge number of points in one day reminded her of all the times Harry, Ron, and her had saved the day and had gotten a large number of points for it, and even the ones where they didn't. Flashes of the years filled her mind.

_First Year: Eleven year-old Ron getting fifty points for "the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years." Eleven year-old Hermione getting fifty points for "the use of cool logic in the face of fire." Eleven-year old Harry getting sixty points for "pure nerve and outstanding courage." And then an eleven year-old Neville getting ten points for the courage to stand up to his friends. His very first points for Gryffindor._

_Second Year: Twelve year-olds Ron and Harry getting Special Awards for Services to the School and two hundred points each for going down into the Chamber of Secrets to save an eleven year-old Ginny._

_Third Year: Thirteen year-olds Ron, Harry, and Hermione in the Shrieking Shack with Professor Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew escaping. Harry and Hermione going back in time. Saving Buckbeak. Saving Sirius. Fighting off the Dementors. Watching Sirius and Buckbeak fly away. Getting back to the Hospital Wing in time._

_Fourth Year: Fourteen year-old Hermione helping Harry get through all three tasks. Fourteen year-old Ron and Harry fighting, then reconciling. Finding out about Voldemort returning. Seeing Cedric's dead body. Harry winning the Triwizard Tournament, but giving the winnings to Fred and George.  
_

_Fifth Year: Fifteen year-olds Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville and fourteen year-old Ginny and Luna getting fifty points each for "alerting the world to the return of You-Know-Who" after there were no more points left in the Gryffindor Hourglass._

_Sixth Year: Sixteen year-old Harry going off with Dumbledore to find the locket left by Regulus Black. Sixteen year-old Ron, Hermione, and Neville and fifteen year-old Luna and Ginny helping the Professors and the Order fight the Death Eaters. The death of Professor Dumbledore. Bill getting mauled by Fenrir Greyback._

_Seventh Year: Seventeen year-old Harry, Ron, and Hermione going out and trying to find the Horcruxes. Ron leaving. Ron returning. Fighting Voldemort at Godric's Hollow. The Battle of Hogwarts. Ron and Harry dieing._

Hermione hadn't realized it, but tears had started to fall as she was lost in her memories. Her new friends asked her about it, trying to comfort her, but she waved them off, saying that she just missed her friends and how she wished they could have seen her today. Not really a lie, but just not quite the truth.

It hurt. A lot. She felt so lost, and the only thing that really kept her going was the knowledge that she could save them.

No. She would save them. There was no question about it. No matter what happened, she would save them.

Even if she died trying.

* * *

**So sorry I didn't add this sooner! Events made it so that I couldn't access my computer to add this chapter. Also sorry that it is so much shorter than the last one, but that seemed like a good place to end it.  
**

**A/N: Review replies are taking up too much room in these chapters, so after this chapter I will only post replies for anonymous reviews. I will also be editing the previous chapters and removing the replies from them.  
**


	12. Déjà vu

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

**Charlotte- **As much as I wanted that to happen, I doubt Dumbledore would ever do such a thing.

Déjà vu

Far from Hogwarts, in the middle of a forest, there was a group of people in black cloaks. The moon was high in the sky, barely a sliver of light through the dense canopy. Mist surrounded them, swirling around as different people moved. A small popping noise alerted them to someone approaching. A tall man, his face so pale it was nearly white, had appeared. His nose was merely two vertical slits and his eyes were red.

The man, if one could call him that, extended his hand and flicked his abnormally long fingers at the others. They immediately scattered, forming a circle with a few gaps. Lord Voldemort walked in the middle, turning his head to look various people in the eye. Some stood still, but others shifted nervously. Suddenly he stopped.

"Report, Abraxas."

"My Lord, there has been an incident at Hogwarts." The smooth, quiet voice of Abraxas Malfoy said.

"Are you going to stand there or are you going to tell me what happened?" Voldemort whispered.

"Bellatrix Black attempted to kill one of the other students. A Gryffindor."

"That is of no consequence to me." Voldemort hissed.

"My Lord, she was caught doing so in a classroom exercise. She also used one of the shields that Rodolphus taught her, the one that uses the energy of those who try to disable it. Apparently she lost her temper and tried to send a Lethifold at the girl."

The Dark Lord frowned slightly. "How did the girl survive?"

"The professor couldn't take down the shield, even though she did try. But the girl, she knew how to cast a Patronus Charm, and created a fully corporeal Patronus."

"Hmmm... impressive. Being able to cast a Patronus strong enough to drive away a Lethifold while still in school... not many are able to achieve such a thing."

"Yes, my Lord. Bellatrix has been punished with detention for the rest of the term, and perhaps the year."

Voldemort waved his hand in dismissal of that fact. "What of the girl? Who is she?"

"Her name is Mya Grey, my Lord."

"Find out more."

* * *

After being questioned endlessly by her peers, Hermione was ready to leave dinner and go to bed. However, she didn't want to be rude, so she stayed in the Great Hall and pretended to be interested in a story that James, Sirius and Remus were telling about a prank they had pulled that involved a lot of birds following the Slytherins around. She had to admit that it was an impressive show of magic, but she was still tired.

Finally the talk died down and people began to make their way to their Common Rooms. Hermione lead the way as the girls tried to engage her in a conversation, and the boys were still laughing about the prank from who-knows-when.

Once in the Common Room, some people worked on homework. The procrastinators, however, sat around and played wizards chess and Gobstones. Since Hermione had already done her work and didn't feel like playing or watching others, she grabbed one of her textbooks from her dormitory and settled down into a comfy sofa by the fireplace.

The time passed quickly for Hermione as she sat there reading, while others slowly began to yawn and drift off to bed. Before she knew it, she was completely alone in the Common Room at one in the morning.

Hermione stretched her arms and put down her book carefully. As she looked around at the room, a deep sadness overcame her. The room was so similar, and yet everything was so different... She got up and walked out the portrait hole, knowing that sleep would evade her while she was still this emotional, so she decided to take a walk.

She wandered the hallways, taking shortcuts and secret passageways when she heard a noise nearby. After walking aimlessly and still feeling so depressed, Hermione found herself in front of the double doors that lead outside nearly a half hour later.

She pushed them open and shivered at the draft of cold air that swept by her. That didn't bother Hermione, though, not at all. She welcomed the cold now.

The grounds were so dark, but Hermione knew her way around extremely well. Soon she was standing on the edge of a cliff, with the Forbidden Forest on her left, where it extended all the way down into the valley beneath her. Hermione had a miraculous view of the trees and the edge of the lake, a picturesque scene. She had found this place during her third year when she was fighting with Harry and Ron, and had once been comforted by simply sitting there and crying. Now Hermione felt the need to do something else. A song made it's way up her throat, unbidden, but not unwelcome.

_Who can say for certain  
Maybe you're still here?  
I feel you all around me  
You're memories so clear_

_Deep in the stillness  
I can hear you speak  
You're still an inspiration  
Can it be?  
That you are mine  
Forever love  
And you are watching over me from up above?_

_Fly me up to where you are  
Beyond the distant star  
I wish upon tonight  
To see you smile  
If only for awhile to know you're there  
A breath aways not far  
To where you are_

_Are you gently sleeping  
Here inside my dream?  
And isn't faith believing  
All power can't be seen_

_As my heart holds you  
Just one beat away  
I cherish all you gave me  
Everyday  
'Cause you are mine  
Forever love  
Watching me  
From up above_

_And I believe  
That angels breathe  
And that love will live on and never leave_

_Fly me up to where you are  
Beyond the distant star  
I wish upon tonight to see you smile  
If only for awhile to know you're there  
A breath aways not far  
To where you are_

_I know you're there  
A breath aways not far  
To where you are_

Hermione fell to her knees as she finished the song, huge sobs wracking her whole body. She clutched her face with her hands, the tears streaming in between her fingers. Suddenly it was all too much. Harry, Ron, her parents, the Horcruxes, being thrust back in time, it weighed upon her conscience heavily. Hermione threw back her head and screamed.

"WHY!?" The sound echoed in the distance, coming back to haunt her as it slowly faded away. Hermione cried a little bit more taking deep breaths to try and regain control of herself.

"Why?" she whispered, a cloud forming in front of her mouth, before it disappeared.

After all her tears were spent, Hermione slowly climbed to her feet. She clenched her fists as she gritted her teeth in determination. She looked up at the sky, and made her vow to the heavens.

"I will destroy all of the Horcruxes. I will see to it that Voldemort is killed for good before he can kill Lily and James Potter. He will not leave Harry as an orphan. The Second War will never happen. My friends won't have to live in fear or go to a school where Death Eaters are in control. My parents will not die. None of my friends will die." She looked straight ahead and stared out at the horizon, where there was no sign yet of the sun. "I swear." she whispered.

Hermione took one last, long look at the valley beneath her, then turned around and walked back to Hogwarts.

Little did she know that someone was hiding in the forest, listening to every word she said.

* * *

"Mya! Mya, come on, it's time to get up!" A voice said as Hermione lay in her bed, in that place in between sleeping and waking.

An annoyed sigh came from the person, then they shook Hermione a few times.

Hermione groaned. "I'm up, okay?"

"No, not okay. Alice and Lily are already at breakfast. Class starts in thirty minutes! Be thankful that I'm waking you up now, rather than waiting until the last minute."

Hermione shot up, her head spinning as she fought off the last vestiges of sleep.

"Thought that would get you up." Hermione looked over and identified the speaker as Mary, who was now leaning against the bedpost, her arms folded.

"Right. Thanks." She said as she ran to grab her robes. Silently she thanked herself for taking a shower after she had come back from the grounds, leaving no need for her to take one now.

Ten minutes later Hermione was dressed and ready to go, with Mary still leaning against the bedpost watching her with amusement written on her face.

"Ready?" Mary asked.

"Yes." Hermione answered after quickly checking through her bag to make sure she had her books for her classes this morning, Arithmancy and Charms.

"Great. Let's get something to eat."

On their way down they made some small talk, until Mary mentioned that her favorite class was Arithmancy. This started an enthusiastic conversation between the two about the class, each one eager to give their own opinion.

"Hello, Grey."

Both Hermione and Mary stopped when they saw that Bellatrix, Rosier, and Dolohov. Hermione sighed at the sense of déjà vu, and wondered if this was going to become her morning routine. Get up, walk down to breakfast with a classmate, and then run into the Slytherins.

"Black." Mary said coolly.

Bellatrix glanced briefly at her as she said, "I was speaking with Grey, not you Boot." She then turned her attention back to Hermione.

"So, Grey, think you're something special after that little stunt you pulled yesterday?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "The little stunt _I _pulled? What about you? What about that incident when we were dueling? What were you trying to do?" she tapped her finger on her lips and pretended to be deep in thought. "Oh yeah," she said with a snort, then folded her arms. "You _tried _to kill me."

Bellatrix sneered, and folded her own arms in response. "I'm giving you fair warning this time Grey. After all, accidents happen. So don't be surprised when next time you aren't so lucky as to face it head on."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Typical. You're going to be a coward and wait until my back is turned, is that right?"

Bella narrowed her eyes. "How dare-"

"Fifty points from Slytherin."

Everyone turned in surprise to see Professor Wiccara appearing behind the three Slytherins, her mouth thin and her eyes flashing.

"Professor-" Antonin Dolohov began, but was cut off.

"I don't want to hear any excuses." Wiccara snapped. "That's fifty points from Slytherin, _each_, and I want to see you in my office now, Miss Black." She glared at the black haired witch. "Threatening another student is not tolerated. Especially after already attacking said student. In fact," she smirked, "let's go and wait in Professor Dumbledore's office, shall we? And don't worry, I'll be sure to ask Horus to join us. Actually, why not bring everyone? Miss Grey, if you could come with us as well." Wiccara looked around at the others. "Carry on."

Hermione looked startled, but followed her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as they once again treaded the path to the Headmaster's office.

Once they had settled into the chairs conjured for them by Professor Wiccara, Bellatrix took up the same appearance as she did the day before; staring out the window and looking bored. Hermione crossed her ankles and folded her hands in her lap as she examined some of the silver instruments sitting in various places around the office. Wiccara conjured up a parchment and quill, and quickly scribbled something down. Two taps with her wand and both had disappeared.

Hermione shook her head at all of the things that had happened yesterday that were happening again today. She really hoped that this wasn't a tradition in the making.

"Have either one of you had breakfast yet?" Wiccara asked. Hermione shook her head while Bellatrix ignored her. A wave of her wand and a tray appeared, floating, in front of Hermione, full of various breakfast foods, toppings, and drinks. She thanked her professor and began eating as quietly and discreetly as she could, the silence unnerving her.

The second she had finished eating Professors Dumbledore and Slughorn walked into the room. Hermione pushed the floating tray away, and Wiccara waved her wand, making it disappear and a large chair appear for Slughorn.

"Fey, what happened now?" Slughorn asked with a sigh of resignation.

"Miss Black threatened Miss Granger. I can't stand for this, Albus! Something must be done!"

"What exactly did Miss Black say?" Dumbledore wondered, keeping Slughorn from protesting. He grumbled, but didn't say anything.

"She said that she was giving Miss Grey a fair warning, and that accidents happen. Miss Black also said that next time Miss Grey wouldn't face it head on."

"Come now, Fey, that could mean anything!" Slughorn boomed.

"What else could it mean, Horus?" Wiccara asked in exasperation.

The Potions Master opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He seemed embarrassed to find that he had no reasonable explanation.

"What do you propose, Fey?" Dumbledore asked.

"Detention for the rest of the year, since I know that neither one of you will allow her to be expelled. However, if she is caught threatening or harming Miss Grey in any way, I have to insist that she be expelled. I cannot permit her to get away with anything less." Wiccara said, with nodded her head in finality.

The Headmaster seemed to consider this, then nodded. Slughorn began to protest, but Dumbledore raised his hand to silence him.

"I have to agree with Fey on this matter Horus. After the events of yesterday, I find that if Miss Black is capable of such actions, then we cannot let her stay here if she does so again. I will not put the rest of the students at risk."

Hermione looked shocked. This did not correspond with the events of her Sixth Year, where Draco Malfoy was trying to kill Dumbledore. In that instance, Draco harmed two students, Katie Bell and Ron Weasley, while attempting to fulfill his task set before him by Lord Voldemort, and Dumbledore did nothing to punish him. Although, Hermione considered, perhaps it was because the Headmaster knew the consequences Draco would face if he was expelled.

"And I trust that you took points away for this, Fey?" Dumbledore asked, the question breaking through Hermione's thoughts.

"Yes, of course. She was with Mr. Rosier and Mr. Dolohov, so I took away fifty points for all three."

"Fifty points? Fey, don't you think-" Slughorn said, trying to convince her of some other, hopefully smaller, number.

"I do think. 150 points seemed perfectly reasonable to me, and I remembered that I had completely forgotten to take away points for Miss Black's actions yesterday. So the points taken away today are also for what had slipped my mind when Miss Black tried to kill Miss Grey."

Slughorn sighed, knowing that he could do nothing. Even though he knew that his house didn't have that many points yet, so Slytherin was back to zero, while Gryffindor was over three hundred points ahead, and the second day hadn't even truly begun.

"I suggest that you two get to your next class, since I believe the bell will ring soon." Dumbledore instructed.

"Yes, professor." Hermione said as she got up and walked out. Bellatrix rolled her eyes and got up as well.

Hermione managed to make it through Arithmancy without having to deal with any questions, but once that class was over she and the other girls had a free period while the boys were still in Double Care of Magical Creatures. Even Peter had managed to pass his O.W.L. for the class and was taking it. Hermione had been surprised to find out that Remus wasn't in Arithmancy, since he had struck her as the kind of person to take a high level course rather than learn about other species.

Once the bell rang to signal the end of class, Mary grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her up to Gryffindor Tower and into the Seventh Year girls dormitory, with Alice and Lily close behind. The second the door was shut she was bombarded with questions. Again.

"So what happened?"

"Has Bellatrix finally been expelled?"

"She should have been yesterday, I can't believe that Dumbledore didn't kick her out for trying to kill you!"

"You guys, shut it so that Mya can explain!"

Hermione waited for their full attention before speaking.

"Bellatrix has been given detention for the rest of the year, and if she's caught threatening or harming me, then she will be expelled. Professor Wiccara made sure that Dumbledore agreed to that."

"And 150 points were taken away from Slytherin for that." Mary added.

"Oh yeah, I was wondering why the Slytherin hourglass was completely empty. They didn't even have 150 points to start with, so they don't have any right now." Alice said with a laugh.

"Excellent!" Mary cried out, ecstatic.

The three roommates tried to pry some more information out of Hermione, but since there wasn't much else to tell they soon gave up and decided they should work together on their Arithmancy homework. They all just finished right when the bell rang for the end of their free period. They quickly grabbed their Charms books and made their way down to the classroom. Outside of it the boys were waiting, all eager to hear the fate of Bellatrix Black. Hermione quickly explained what had happened before they could even ask. As they sat down, Sirius and James came up with ideas to get Bellatrix to attack or threaten Hermione while a teacher was watching, each one more ridiculous than the last.

Once again Hermione showed her proficiency at magic, and earned another fifty points for Gryffindor. Thirty were for answering three questions correctly, and twenty were awarded for being able to cast nonverbal spells. When it was time for lunch, all of the Gryffindors were praising her for winning over three hundred fifty points in less than two days.

When they entered the Great Hall, the Gryffindors were cheering at the lead they had on all the other houses. They, along with the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, were at the same time laughing at the Slytherins for having no points whatsoever.


	13. Author's Note

I apologize so much for not updating in months! I hate it when other authors do that, and I know I promised many people that I would do my best to update weeks ago. However, I have realized that this story is going in a completely different direction than the one I had planned in my head, so it's hard for me to continue with it. So, I decided to try and create a compromise.

1) I keep the story as is, but will update sporadically and at unknown intervals. For all I know, the next time I would add a chapter would be in June after school is done and over with and I have settled down into summer a bit.

2) I erase this story (or keep it up, it doesn't really matter to me) and start a new one. I will write the ENTIRE thing before I actually post it, so that way I WILL update once a week until the story is completely up. Personally, I would like to do this one so that I can write what in my mind is a better story.

3) I keep the story as is, but finish writing the rest of it and then update once a week once it is done, but that means that it would take me even longer to update the next chapter than option number 1.

4) I do whatever with this story, then start the new one and update randomly. I feel that this is the worst of the four options, but I thought I should put it out there.

Please Review to send me your thoughts or send me a Private Message through my profile.


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